There's a cleft, perhaps even a political schizophrenia, within Hillary Clinton that explains her refusal on election night to recognize defeat.
In the soothing scenario offered by James Carville, it will take a few days for the Clintons and her supporters to bring her campaign to a smooth landing after a long nasty ride.
Another view from the CNN pundits is that she is leveraging Obama for an unknown agenda, including consideration as the vice presidential nominee.
In both scenarios, Clinton is expected to do "what's right for the party and what's right for the country", which is interpreted to mean campaigning all-out for the Democratic ticket.
Maybe.
But there is still another dimension to Clinton that is unspoken, unspeakable, deniable, demonic, harbored among a few Clinton operatives [like Sidney Blumenthal] and perhaps in a hidden recess of her own persona, the destructive id she seems to share with FOX News.
Clinton still wants Obama defeated if possible, and knows there is a way, however horrifying to some. As long as she doesn't concede and endorse, she can wait for someone to produce something that renders Obama less electable. The superdelegates, in this desperate scenario, then could be forced to switch by the convention.
The latest tapes about the Chicago priest are a case in point. More is coming on the alleged statements and writings of Michelle Obama. Claims of connections to the Palestinians are in the wings. Obama's winning streak has noticeably declined in the past several weeks, including losses in two of the last three primaries. If he cannot be defeated for the nomination, in this Shakespearian plot, he can be defeated in November if damaged enough during the primaries.
Insane? Perhaps. Time and events are not on her side. The Obama followers have been reserved and polite thus far, but their potential reaction is something superdelegates are deeply aware of, especially as the Denver convention looms.
Clinton astonishingly refused to acknowledge that Obama, the first African American nominee, came from behind to win a majority of primaries and caucuses, a majority of delegates, and a majority of votes, while Clinton continues to claim that the entirely bogus Florida and Michigan primaries should be treated as expressions of freedom.