Is It Over?

You have probably heard it by now. Senator Barack Obama won North Carolina, which allocated 115 delegates, by 14 points. He was edged out by Senator Hillary Clinton in Indiana. However, many voices in the media and the Democratic Party are calling on Sen. Clinton to drop out.

Should she drop out? Does she still have a chance? Hillary Clinton should drop out and she does not stand a chance. There are six contests remaining. Kentucky, Oregon, and Puerto Rico are the biggest primaries left, each allocating over 50 delegates. There are a total of 217 pledged delegates left available. Barack Obama stands 160 pledged delegates away from hitting the milestone of 2,025 delegates needed to obtain the nomination. Hillary Clinton needs over 300 pledged delegates needed for the nomination.

Barring a monumental collapse of the Obama Campaign or an act of God, this race is over. Even if Michigan and Florida are counted, Clinton would have a net gain of 50 delegates total. She would need 76% of the remaining elected delegates to overtake Obama. In 48 contests, neither of the candidates has done that. If Florida and Michigan are not counted, she would need 88% of those elected delegates. It is just not doable with this math.

The bottom line is that Hillary Clinton is essentially the bad actor who refuses to leave the stage.
It is time for the hook to put her behind the curtains. Several superdelegates have been moving to Obama since his win on Tuesday. Former Presidential candidate John Edwards (D-NC) said that Sen. Obama is the probable nominee this morning. I would not be surprised if an Al Gore or a John Edwards threw their support to Obama in the coming days.

There are some who argue that Clinton has a broader base to build a winning coalition. If that is the case, then why is she losing in pledged delegates and popular vote? If she truly is more electable than Obama, then she should be leading right now. She does have the support of women and the white working-class. And that should be talked about just as much as how Clinton simply cannot obtain the African-American vote. Blacks are the most reliable constituency of the Democratic Party. If they don't win them, they have no shot at winning.

The Democratic Party needs June, July, August, and the eight weeks prior to the November elections to build a winning coalition. I am going to be honest. The Democratic Party is divided. A lot of work has to be done to unite the party. Hillary Clinton staying in the race will only contribute to the wounds of the Democrats. Barack Obama is the nominee and Clinton ought to be supporting Obama right now to focus on John McCain.