Hillary Clinton: Is it finally over? Looks like it.

The Huffington Post, citing many other sources, is reporting that the Clinton campaign appears to be in retreat. Reporter Thomas B. Edsall writes:

Hillary Clinton has summoned top donors and backers to attend her New York speech tomorrow night in an unusual move that is being widely interpreted to mean she plans to suspend her campaign and endorse Barack Obama.

Obama and Clinton spoke Sunday night and agreed that their staffs should begin negotiations over post-primary activities, according to reliable sources.

Edsall also reports that staffers have been asked to turn in their outstanding receipts by the end of the week.

The HuffPo article also mentions a Politico post stating that members of Hillary Clinton's advance staff are being summoned to New York." They are being told to go home and that the campaign "hasn't figured out (a) schedule past Tuesday."

Top Hillary supporter former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is also asking Hillary Clinton to call it quits on Tuesday:

It does appear to be pretty clear that Senator Obama is going to be the nominee...After Tuesday's contests, she needs to acknowledge that he's going to be the nominee and quickly get behind him.

It has also been reported that "most of" a group of 17 uncommitted Senate super delegates will (finally!) endorse Obama tomorrow. Obama needs 46 delegates to clinch the nomination with 31 delegates at stake in the final primaries.

The most troubling thing about all of this for me is that Clinton wants Obama's offered help in paying off the $20 million-and-counting debt her campaign faces. That's pretty rich (pardon the pun). If she had cut her losses three months ago, knowing that there was no way she was going to be the nominee, she wouldn't be in this predicament. Clinton herself went on David Letterman lamenting the amount of money candidates spend on presidential campaigns and laughably saying she thought public campaign financing was the best option. Think of all the good that $20 million could have done, and instead, it is wasted on a hubris- and entitlement-fueled campaign that didn't know when it was time to quit.

I'm only going to say this once:

Barack Obama, if you help to pay off that debt, you're going to have some really pissed off MOMocrats to deal with.  And remember, hell hath no fury like a mom with a blog.

And I'm only going to say this once:

Tomorrow, Hillary. Tomorrow. It's over. No more. We have work to do so please, step aside.

Comments

[Lara`]

"Think of all the good that $20 million could have done and instead, it is wasted on a hubris- and entitlement-fueled campaign that didn't know when it was time to quit."

Seriously, this makes me so angry and is even why I ultimately stopped donating to Obama's campaign once it looked like he was heading towards the nomination. The amount of money being spent on TV ads and marketing has been so exorbitant. To think about all the children who could be given health care, books, food, clothes, shelter with $20 million...

[Aimee Greeblemonkey]

Ditto Lara. Our system is just messed up in general. I know we need to get to know our candidates, but this is just crazy.

And if Obama helps Clinton? WHOAH BOY. There will be A LOT OF PEOPLE YELLING.

[Erika Jurney]

AMEN!!!!!!!!!

[Amy@UWM]

I just want Hillary to go home and for all this to be over. If it takes paying her off, then so be it.

[cynematic]

Not one penny to Mark Penn or Harold Ickes. Only to small vendors that she stiffed all around the country.

But she can pay for the privilege of taking Penn's and Ickes' bad advice All. By. Herself.

[Karoli]

I'm going to offer a different point of view to those expressed here.

Barack Obama's message has been one of reconciliation, finding common ground, reaching across to find areas of agreement. His outstretched hand to her is the very best illustration of what he means when he talks about reconciliation, don't you think? He's not a mush-mouth, nor is he naive. (I don't think you succeed in Chicago politics by being naive, frankly)

Consider this: If he does not help her raise funds to pay off her campaign debt, she cannot suspend her candidacy and she cannot concede, because if she does, she will also have to eat the campaign debt. Even if the Clintons made the kind of money they made last year, 11.4 million dollars is not chicken feed.

As dearly as I'd love to see it, he cannot spank Hillary Clinton and send her to the woodshed for an extended timeout. It would undermine his candidacy and premise as someone who practices transformative politics around the idea that campaigns should be based on issues, not personalities, on honest debate and not personal attacks.

He won. That means his politics won. His refusal to step into the gutter and play it her way WON. Why on earth is it to his benefit to treat her like discarded clothing?

There are some very, very angry people out there. They're angry because she made them angry and she made them angry by lying to them. Wouldn't it be better for them to strike a deal where he helps her retire her debt, and she begins the process of smoothing the water with those folks she made so angry? (Will she? I think she knows she'd darn well better if she wants a career when all is said and done).

As to the 20 million spent after she should have dropped out, I'm not as quick to agree with you all that it was wasted. The Democrats' strategy was always a 50-state strategy. Would it have been as effective if she'd dropped after Indiana/NC? How about if she'd dropped after Super Tuesday?

If she hadn't kept going, there wouldn't be as many new registered voters, as much possibility to turn traditional red states blue, downticket progressive candidates would not have had the possibilities that they have today, and our prospects for November would not be as rosy.

Another side benefit? The pastor crap, the elitist stuff, all that? It's done. No swiftboating with that stuff, and if anyone could dig the dirt on Obama, it was Penn, et al. That in itself is a bonus.

The Republicans will still try swiftboating him, of course, but it won't work. and as a friend said to me today, if anyone asks John McCain if Barack obama is a Muslim, he will answer "hell no, he's not a Muslim." because in that respect, John McCain has no patience for smears based on lies, and so he will even retire the CLinton "as far as I know" smear.

Okay, sorry to be so verbose, but I'd like to see the next weeks put pressure on Hillary and her staffers to be mensches (sp?) instead of offering an excuse for them to sulk.

[Jozet]

It's shameful the amount of money either of them spent. Be even-handed here.

And any calls for Hillary to step down before either candidate has the required number of delegates to win is just going to cause bad blood and more lost votes.

That was true months ago, weeks ago, days ago, and still true right now.

I understand that this is primarily an Obama supporter blog. But you can't ask for Hillary to step down one minute and then expect unity to happen the next. If you don't "need" Hillary supporters, that's another thing all together. That's the distinct message that many of us have been getting and continue to get. Which again, unity where?

[Karoli]

Jozet,

I think it's foolish to say we don't 'need' Hillary supporters. As a lifelong Democrat who once went to the wall defending Bill Clinton and originally supported Hillary Clinton's bid for president, I would never, ever say Hillary's supporters aren't needed.

What is needed, however, is a step back on both sides. Back in january I wrote about how divisive I perceived Hillary to be, and the state of the Democratic party today proves that to be true. Yes, there has been sexism. There's also been racism. When do we stop with the 'isms' and start admitting where wrongs were done and forgiveness needed?

I have no desire to humiliate Hillary Clinton. At the same time, I'd be a liar if I didn't tell you that her words and deeds, along with those of certain of her surrogates, along with those of some of her supporters, have left me angry and extraordinarily frustrated.

Her pounce on the 'elitism' and 'bitter' wagon? If she just apologized for her incredible intellectual dishonesty in that one situation, I could probably forgive the "hard-working people..hard-working white people" remark. Her specious claim to the popular vote and intentional shit-stirring down in Florida with grandiose claims of parity with the 2000 election, civil rights, etc. was almost impossible for me to fathom, much less forgive.

So yes, we need Hillary supporters, because the stakes are high for all of us and we're all in it together. But that's going to take some time. And effort. From all sides.

[Gunfighter]

If Obama has raised enough money to help Clinton, and he chooses to do so... I wouldn't be thrilled... but I'd understand that position and get over it fairly quickly.

I suppose we just need the next 24 to 48 hours play out and see what comes of it.

GF

[jaelithe]

I don't know for certain whether this is true, but I have read in various places that Obama could not actually erase her whole debt with the funds he already has, since it might violate campaign finance rules; however, he could specifically hold a joint fundraiser encouraging his own supporters to donate to a fund to repay the Clinton campaign's debts.

I would certainly feel more comfortable with this sort of solution than the use of already-donated funds. I agree that the money could have been used for much more important things than a political campaign, but the fact is, a lot of the people who are currently owed by the Clinton campaign are small business owners-- caterers, signmakers, video editors, and the like-- who will be hard hit if Clinton's debts aren't paid.

Now, Mark Penn, on the other hand? As far as I'm concerned, if he's really that hard up for cash, he can go stand on the road with a cardboard sign that reads "Will mislead voters and/or mismanage campaigns for food."

[Karoli]

Jaelithe,

I'd make a campaign donation to retire Hillary's debt just to see Mark Penn publicly humiliated that way. I'd make a bigger one to see Harold Ickes on that same road with a similar sign. His would read "Will stonewall, berate, and have tantrums for food."

[lizriz]

"Think of all the good that $20 million could have done, and instead, it is wasted on a hubris- and entitlement-fueled campaign that didn't know when it was time to quit."

The time to quit is when the neck-and-neck fight is over. Which it may be soon, but it surely wasn't before. She kept running because half the Democratic party believes in her and supports her. Her strength and persistence are admirable. Fighting till the end is admirable. Stepping down or Obama expecting her to step down when the race isn't actually over would be nothing to admire.

Seriously, I can not get over expecting your candidate to win because you expect your competitor to be "gracious" enough to drop out of a race that isn't over. Then, and only then, would I regret my vote for Hillary Clinton.

If I have to vote for Obama, it sure as heck better be because he actually won the primary.

As for Hillary Clinton running a "negative and divisive" campaign; You know, I've always been an independent voter till now, and I'm left thinking the Democrats are a bunch of pansies. This primary hasn't been all that nasty at all. Seriously. She could have come at Obama 200% more, and McCain surely will. Thankfully, as mentioned here, at least a couple of landmines have been exploded already.

Give it two / three months from now, and then let's see if you think the last 12 were nasty.

As for the amount spent, Hillary had to do what she could to keep up with Obama's spending. As some have said here, the amounts raised and spent by both are huge and unprecedented. Money was an advantage Obama had, and he used it.

[Stefania/CityMama]

Liz, I see what you are saying but the difference is that I always knew this was going to be the outcome. From my POV, the last three months--despite her primary wins--were all for naught. She could not have been the nominee. I believe that. And, declaring you can be the nominee because white people like you better or by counting FL and MI in your corner is delusional, false, and to me indicative of the nastiness and divisiveness that have been the underpinnings of her campaign.

[lizriz]

Hi Stefania,

A late response on this.

Considering that she did end up with more popular votes, and that MI and FL were up in the air (and fully within their rights to appeal), I disagree, obviously. Personally, I believe that Obama won because of his far superior campaign strategy and his money and because the superdelegates gave it to him. Which is fine, but Clinton was smart to stay in, smart to wait a beat to suspend, and smart to endorse Obama when she did.

Not so smart to talk demographics. Although now, we're all talking about them, because Obama does have weakness in states that matter. We may not like the why of it - and maybe he can change how we look at the map - but demographics are demographics.

Finally, just my opinion, I don't think the primary was all that nasty at all. Just politics. I think it was practically a love fest. She clearly couldn't come at him big guns, and he didn't have to come at her because all his other machinations were working so effectively. I think true nasty is what we're just beginning to see now from McCain.

Man, that one exchange where she offered him the vice presidency and he responded - rightly - why would he take it when he's winning - that was a perfect political exchange. She got the message out she wanted to get out, and he got in a nice clean, strong jab. My absolute favorite moment of the primary.

Don't want this to get too long, just thought I'd respond.

It's funny to me that the one time during the primary when I actually thought, "OK, *now* here he is, finally!" and had a positive reaction to Obama - suddenly then everyone was calling him "arrogant."

But, I will vote for him, assuming his VP candidate doesn't give me hives. If it's Clinton, then I will support financially. I'm not "angry" about Clinton being out of the race precisely *because* she finished it and finished strong.

I will say that I've no interest in "hugging it out" with Obama supporters who talked and joked about my candidate in ways I would never, ever talk about theirs.