Slate Launches "Hillary Deathwatch"

Slate:

Hillary Clinton is as good as dead. This became the consensus over the past week, when the media awoke en masse to the dual reality that 1) Clinton can't close the pledged-delegate gap and 2) Obama has her beat in the popular vote. But the Clinton campaign shows no signs of slowing--she said herself she's prepared to compete for at least three more months. So the question now is not just "How dead is she?" but "When will she realize it?"

In the tradition of Slate's Saddameter (gauging the likelihood of invading Iraq), the Clintometer (measuring the chances of a Lewinsky-related ousting), and the Gonzo-meter (charting the attorney general's demise), we bring you the Hillary Deathwatch, a daily update on Hillary Clinton's dwindling chances of winning the Democratic nomination.

Read the whole story: Slate

Comments

[SocialConscience]

This is completely devoid of taste and credibility. Notice, we didn't see one of these for Huckabee who was sporting a much more severe delegate and popular vote gap. Some people never mature.

[TimmySlagle]

12%.

That's only slightly better than the 10% chance the IPCC gave Anthropogenic Global Warming being wrong.

Strange that Hillary would soldier on for a 12% chance, but vehemently deny, that a 10% chance of a stable earth, is even a possibility.

[nick1936]

the last time I looked it took 2024 deligates to win does either obama or Hillary have this number if not let the race continue

[wmbear]

FIFTY PERCENT OF POLITICS IS NINETY PERCENT MENTAL (to paraphrase Yogi Berra -- or is it the other way around, "Ninety percent of politics if fifty percent mental"?)

[SonofLiberty1]

When I saw this headline I immediately thought of what the 12% really signified...

Say your friendly, local meteorologist says that there is a 12% chance of snow...
What does that really mean?

Out of 100 locations in the area, in 12 of them, it will snow.

And of course, in those 12 areas, you would say the chance of snow is in reality

100%

Now, politics is not quite unlike the weather in that change can happen very quickly, especially when polls are concerned.

Therefore, if you are an Obama supporter, I wouldn't order the champaign yet though....

[didimus]

Barack Obama's chance of winning the presidency: next to nothing. What an embrrassment to all the wealthy white bloggers who fell in love with the guy. You WILL be held responsible come this fall.

[Hillbug]

And Clinton would be better?

[Whinger]

To quote Mark Twain, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated"

[DatelessNerd]

To quote Boz Scaggs, "Why can't you just get it through your head? It's over, it's over now."

[PardonMyFrenchFries]

Boz Scaggs? You listen to country?

[mrJJ]

I can actually see Sen Huckleberry Clinton carrying on her campaign with the Celine Dion theme song from the Titanic playing around her campaign as the Dem superdelegates head off to the life rafts....

I see a table on the deck of the ill fated SS Huckleberry Clinton; the table is adorned with donuts and coffee it is reserved for the quartet playing the solemn theme song music. The guest musicians are Mark Penn, Dollar Bill, Harold Ickes & Howard Wolfston ... such a heart breaking scene ....

[trekbikie]

How's she going to get the donuts and coffee? She's not paying the bills of her suppliers now.

[debwarot]

When Governor Huckabee stuck in there, we didn't see the same intense, almost vicious, call for him to withdraw that we see now for Senator Clinton. He was a bit of a joke, admittedly, but was he also a bit 'kinder' and 'gentler'? Is Senator Clinton one of those strong personalities that attract some, repel others? If so, does this make her more divisive? Less electable? Is 'liking' a candidate a prerequisite to 'trusting' them?

Theres been speculation about Senator Clinton's contingency strategy for 2012. Supposedly, if not nominated she will subtly and covertly campaign against Obama/for McCain with an eye towards the presidency in 2012. Just how much of this is true?

Senator Obama has stated that he will support the nominee if it is not him. Has Senator Clinton said this? Can both be counted on to do so?

Theres been more interest in this campaign than we have seen in years. But there has also been more bad blood. Does increased interest = increased intensity = hostility between the two sides? If so, does it have to be this way?

Once we have a nominee, will this level of involvement continue into the general? I admit to having contemplated just not voting if Senator Obama is not nominated. More importantly, I have heard this from both sides. Would more Hillary supporters sit it out (or vote republican) if she is not nominated, or would more Obama supporters do so if he is not the candidate?

[dadw5boys]

How much money has the Insurance Industry come up with for you to setup this web site???????

Stop Hillary and Stop National Health Insurance.

[southsideirish]

Hmmm... Alright, I'm as fervent as an Obama supporter as they come. I've definitely done my share of ripping on Hillary. (Before it was even popular I referred to her as the "Tonya Harding" of politics.) Seriously, though, this one is pretty distasteful, even for me. Let her have her hanging on by thread moment. That's her decision. We don't have to make it worse by throwing things like this at her.

[GrainOSand]

The people of PA have a golden opportunity to represent the fact that the power players are the people. I still like Hillary Clinton although she has disappointed me during this campaign by the reveal of the depths of her ambitions. I would not mind having her as president. But something is going on in our world Hillary as Martin Luther said so many years ago. That something seems to be calling for a different result than that you covet. The question for Hillary is how deep does her wisdom run? Hopefully much deeper than her ambition. Let's turn all of this passion on the "divide, conquer, and divide further" folks and show them the power of unity. Let's take the country back for the good of the adults as well as the kids. Or let's stay the course and see where that takes us.

[SCG]

My question is, who wants to watch?

[GrainOSand]

As in all things dealing with organized groups of people I am sure a power player exists whose words carry weight because they have fingers on levers that can affect meaningful change in the political life of a candidate. When that person or small group of people have been convinced of Obama as the "Real Deal" the word will be spoken and the 2008 primary will come to pass. To me it would be better and a far more dramatic and compelling story if the good people of PA let their voices be heard that it is time for us to focus our attention on an all out assault on GWB, the RNC, conservative talk radio, and the whole premise of little government, tax cuts for the wealthy, calls for patriotism coming out of a mist of conspiracy, calls for personal responsibility coming out of a mist of historical wrong-doing, and all else that is the doctrine of those calling themselves "conservative".

[DiogenesII]

"Ignorance is the night of the mind, without stars or moon."
And we wonder why we find ourselves down in this rabbit hole.
Let's take a lesson from the incorrigible mind of Oscar Wilde,
"The truth is never pure, and rarely simple."

We piously toss insidious invectives, casually spit vile vituperations,
efforting to convince others that your rationale is somehow superior
to someone else's, having lost sight that the one truly noble act that
we can perform is to be superior to our former selves. It is my humble
opinion that "professed progressives" should be working towards
that goal.

Wake-up and smell the toast.

[GrainOSand]

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."
Lao-Tzu

“We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.”
Chaung Tzu

I must have convinced you for you are the only one that responded to what was an expression of sincere opinion in a public forum not an attempt to convince. I am impressed with your use of words, though saying you are ticked about my comment would have been more concise.

If the toast is burning let it burn. Have you not heard that if the toast or the roof is on fire that we do not need any water?

[GrainOSand]

My comment was just that. Your comment is a study in wasted and misguided effort to diminish and belittle.

My comment was not an attempt to impress but to address.
Your comment was an image projected, posing as a mirror of reflection. You attempt to reflect that it was me trying to be convincing when in fact your "Atom Bomb" approach to dealing with the utterances of a mere grain of sand betray that you in fact are the one requiring external validation; that you in fact are the image in the mirror of needing, craving, and requiring, public adulation. Either that or you can’t read and missed my moniker.

I have no problem with dissent but rhetorical flatulence -- no thanks.

“We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.”
--Lao Tzu

I find I use this quote often when dealing with cases of one-upmanship in opinion.

This one also works nicely:

Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd.
--Bertrand Russell

[lafcadio]

Paging Dr. Kevorkian. Clean up at aisle 4, kitchen sink dept.

[booksnmore4you]

ROFL - you gotta admit, Slate's graphic of Hillary sinking on the Titanic is just Hillary-ous!

[flyguy14222]

Dead? How about some grown up language? Perhaps concedes, even loses. But dead?