Is Hillary Clinton preparing for the end? Signs say yes

For political junkies, part of the fun of watching politics is reading the tea leaves. Admit it. Most of you probably saw friends over the weekend -- a little barbecue, maybe, or a kids' sports match.

And if you talked about politics, chances are good the conversation included a little chatter about how and where the Democrats are going to finish up after Tuesday's final votes in Montana and South Dakota.

Well, three fresh factoids have caught our eye. First, Hillary Clinton announced this morning that she'll spend Tuesday evening in New York, the city that never sleeps and that she represents in the U.S. Senate. Not in Montana or South Dakota, where people are voting, but New York City.

Second, Bill Clinton told folks in South Dakota this morning that "this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind. I thought I was out of politics, till Hillary decided to run. But it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to go around and campaign for her for president."

Third, the folks at Politico report that Mo Elleithee, a Clinton spokesman, tells them that "we just haven't figured out our schedule past Tuesday," so many members of the advance team are being sent home.

(UPDATE: A fourth factoid -- Tom Edsall reports over on Huffington Post that Clinton has taken the "unusual move" of summoning "top donors and backers to attend her speech" Tuesday night in New York.)

Barack Obama has scheduled his own election-night event in St. Paul, site of the September Republican National Convention, and his event can be read as a salvo across the bow for the fall election. What can be inferred from Clinton's picking New York City? Well, it is close to home, and it would be a symbolic place to announce that she is ending her historic run for the White House and devoting her full attentions to the Senate job.

Of course, it could be she just wants to repack a suitcase to start visiting superdelegates in person. But after the Democratic rules committee decision Saturday, the steady seepage of superdelegates Obama's way, and the campaign telling its advance people to take some time off, you gotta wonder.

(UPDATE II: Our colleague Noam Levey reports from South Dakota that Elleithee told reporters aboard the campaign plane this afternoon that "we do not expect a nominee will be clear tomorrow night," signaling that the campaign probably would not end Tuesday. But the Associated Press reports that Clinton advisor Harold Ickes and fundraising director Jonathan Mantz told donors Monday that Clinton probably wouldn't appeal the DNC rules committee decision, and that the campaign expected Obama to secure enough delegates by Wednesday to claim victory.)

-- Scott Martelle

Photo: Associated Press

Comments

[John D]

Ding dong, the witch is...

oh, sorry. What I meant to say is, "Senator's Clinton's gallant campaign in the face of overwhelming adversity has set a new standard in political campaigning."

[dave]

and the election is handed to mccain....

[Daniel]

The end is nigh >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[Ian Harmer]

I like Obama for all kinds of reasons but I doubt he will ever be permitted by the career bureaucrats to be an effective president. And the muck that will be hurled at him from the right, without concern for truth or fairness, will make what Bill Clinton had to deal with seem like a sprinkling of holy water. Hillary would have problems, too, but would be better equipped to get around them, I suspect. I'll be sorry to see her surrender.

[Bob]

Will Hillary bilk enough money from her supporters to pay her loan back, followed by the vendors she owes?

Perhaps this is her sole reason for lingering as long as she has?

She still has ads running asking for campaign contributions!

Hillary, the Queen of Spin and a Legend in Her Own Mind!

http://klintons.com

[Sean K]

Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it. I'm pretty sure there's still gonna be Clinton supporters shambling across the city in tattered clothes, slack jawed and expressionless with arms outstretched in front of them groaning "Cliiiiiiin.... ton". The only thing that will stop them is severe trauma to the brain.

[Sean K]

Just in case some of you are particularly thick headed (clinton supporters? pshaw), that last post was NOT advocating real life attacks on the craniums of Clintonites. It was a Zombie joke.

[veera]

what a fantastic campaign she ran, i have never ever seen such a kind....no matter what happens she is a tough lady and america would have found a better president in her

[Romeo]

See, this is what I mean. Even if Hillary won big in Puerto Rico, she still has to split her delegates. It is not a winner take all kind of thing as in the case of the Republican nominating process. If the Democratic Party just adopted the Republican style of nominating a candidate, Hillary would've been ahead of Obama in popular vote and the number of delegates. Why does the electoral college decide who's gonna be the nominee, and not by popular vote, I don't know. There's something screwy here about the way the voting system has been set up. Why has the Democratic Party come up with this complicated nominating process, I don't know either. Just count the votes. The one with the most votes wins. How complicated is that? I'm beginning to think that my going to the voting polls was just a waste of time.

[Jose]

I believe both candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are very qualified for the job. What I have observed in this campaign is that there has been a lot of sexism overall. My vote was for Barack Obama, but now I strongly encourage all those who have yet not voted to do it for Hillary Clinton. She has demonstrated courage and wisdom, the last stage of human desire. Barack has spoken about change, but that change has not been made clear so far. SUPERDELEGATES, make Hillary Clinton the candidate for the democratic party, and I promise she will take it to the victory you guys are looking for. It is not over yet....Lets keep on making the progress everyone is looking for.

[Greg]

I think the real question that remains is will she announce it or will Bill have to announce defeat as he did in SC.

Why is it so hard for her to acknowledge defeat?
Obama has no problem congratulating her, so why can't she do the same?

Oh.. I know the answer. I just want to put this out there.
Food for thought.

GO OBAMA!!!!

[Dave Miner]

Mrs. Clinton, it's the only decent thing to do. You lied about sniper fire. This lie stuck.

[Justice Now]

Great news if she is. Nice try and too bad. But besides saying goodbye she must also say Vote Obama. Tenacity is one thing, sour grapes another.

[doug]

At last the end?

Congrats to Hillary for a vigirous campagin and unwavering service to the American People.

An equal applause to our Democratic Presidential cannidate Barack Obama. We all have much to hopeful about in 2008.

[David]

Fifth Factoid - Obama talked to Clinton on phone yesterday and Obama giving victory speech Tuesday night, which is otherwise premature b/c he'll still be 10-20 superdelegates short of nomination, even after SD and Montana. Did HRC already concede, but their two camps agreed to keeping it hush-hush til Tuesday night?

[Fred in Ohio]

Looks like she will end it with some class. It's been an incredible race and she has "been a contender". I believe she'll play an important role in the GE as well as in the administration. Keep on keeping on Hillary.

[William Dollar]

Hillary Clinton is now near the end of the line and only some horrible tragic event could save her failed campaign. Mark Penn and other fools she hired for millions of dollars dvelopled a losing strategy for her. The bottom line is she is politics as usual, and the old Washington D.C. is so rotten to the core that Amererca is willing to take a chance on the new guy. John McCain is an old fool with foolish ideas on how to continue to ruin America. We better all pray this old fool does not end up in the oval office.

[K M Nur]

Whoever the US decides to nominate or vote. I think, Hillary would have been better for Asian Countries. Thats solely my personal opinion.

[William]

Good riddance! What could of been a historically proud moment for American women in politics turned ino one of the most self indulgent and power hungry displays ever.

[Justice Now]

Great news if she is. Nice try and too bad. But besides saying goodbye she must also say Vote Obama. Tenacity is one thing, sour grapes another.

[JRG]

Good to see it ending; she was so very polarizing, yet it did get more people energized in the process of government in this country. Time for Obama to move forward and win this thing.

[Lalit S. Chaube]

I hope she is able to see, what the rest of country has seen for sometime, it was a spirited attempt, but fell short, and OBAMA is a better candidate.

I am assuming this is an early discussion of 2012 primary, but OBAMA is a better candidate for the country today and in 2012, so for HRC , this is it for the presidential ambitions.

[Paul in Venura]

I believe Senator Clinton will do the right thing for her party and for herself. She will bow out this week.

If she is not the VP, she probably will be the first woman Senate Majority Leader, a very powerful position.

[Richard]

No! Hillary should go to the convention! And they should vote for both nominations - President & VP! She is far more ready to lead and beat McCain than novice Hussein Obama. When it comes to the real voters they will never chose a minority. And women are not minority :)

[Sammy Sezso]

I wish there hadn't been so much preemptive blaming. If Barack loses in Fall 2008, his excuse is going to be Hillary's lengthy primary contest. Hillary casts accusations toward the media for sexism, but never attributes an adjustment for their perceived favoritism despite the predominantly white faces among the media and Obama's complexion. How about this: If Obama loses it's because no Democrat has ever won the presidency without making significant wins in the South, and he has obvious problems there, both with his color and with his relatively dovish military position. As to whether or not Hillary has set herself up nicely for a leadership role in 2012 if Obama loses, what difference will it make -- there won't be much of a world left after four more years of Bush-"thinking" propagated by McCain.

[Paul in Venura]

I believe Senator Clinton will do the right thing for her party and for herself. She will bow out this week.

If she is not the VP, she probably will be the first woman Senate Majority Leader, a very powerful position.

[Laura D.]

So Senator Obama is going to be where?

St Paul, NY?

St Paul, MN?

St Paul, OR?

St Paul, MT?

For heaven's sakes! Journalism 101!!

[Kap]

What a relief it will be if Hillary finally gives up the in-party fight! Then the Democrats can focus their energy on actually winning the November election against their real opponents and calling off the circular firing squad. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a little forward-thinking on Tuesday....

[Arod]

Bye Billary, it's been fun!

[Gene Yuss]

A fourth "factoid"? Why are you printing "factoids"? Factoids are, by the correct definition, not facts. The word ends in "oid", meaning "like". It was created to refer to things people believe to be true and repeat as fact (originally the term was a direct reference to the tendency of the media to repeat an asserted belief as fact).

Through repeated misuse -- by the media no less -- the common usage of the word has come to refer to small, supposedly interesting but trivial bits of information (which makes your "common meaning" usage of it here bizarre in an entirely different way).

The word "factoid" is thus the victim of common stating and restating of something that has no actual basis in fact, until it becomes commonly accepted as fact -- and there's a word for that...

[Brittanicus]

Convincing my family, not to vote for Senator Obama is still in the works. Senator McCain is a 'dark Horse' and he was heavily invested in the last Comprehensive immigration Reform; another name for AMNESTY. In my eyes they both condemned themselves. But my family needs Universal health care from Senator Clinton, after my daughter died from Cancer, as her employment insurance didn't cover the nightmare.

[Gene Yuss]

Paul in Ventura, Clinton will not become Majority Leader. Harry Reid is far too powerful in that position, and people just don't understand that.

Clinton has to decide if she wants to just return to the Senate, run for NY Governor, or demand the VP slot.

[Dean S]

Thank God! Finally! Can't stand the woman!

[Mike M]

The great thing about being a Democrat is that if you support Obama you are sexist and if you support Hillary you are racist. What a choice.

[james13]

Now the real fight begins Hillary supporters will
enjoy what the Republicans have in store for
our Messiah Obama! This will be the worse defeat
since McGovern!

[G Casey]

Why should Hillary quit? It would be like leaving a "whodunnit" play before the final act or leaving a basketball game early because your team is down a few points. If BO is so great, why hasn't he closed the deal yet? Hillary's tenacity has made more and more people aware of who BO & MO really are: Far Left Wing radicals who truly hate capitalism, hate America; what it stands for, and want to socialize our economy. I'd like to see this go to the Convention. I want to see the fur fly! This is better than all the Soap Operas combined!

[Anon]

Romeo asked:

>>Why does the electoral college decide who's gonna be the nominee, and not by popular vote,...

Probably because the electoral college decides who's going to be president. As long as the electoral college exists, you have to take it into account when nominating a candidate. The GOP uses the electoral college to decide how many delegates each state sends to their convention as well.

[David]

OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT!!!!!! its about damn time, Obama is the better candadite, and he will be the president.

[Eloise]

Please stop bashing Hillary - enough. She is a powerful and accomplished woman in her own right. Let us respect that. The games she played, no matter how objectionable, are all part of the political rat race. I have been an Obama supporter long before he declared his campaign for President, and I find his ideas and plans very powerful. However, if Sen.Clinton were to be the nominee, I would vote for her, because I do not want more Republican policies and supreme court judges sitting and messing our lives for the next 30-50 years. Why badmouth someone who is a fellow Democrat?

Sen.Clinton could have run a more efficient, more dignified campaign, but that was not to be. But that does not diminish her potential and power. She will prove herself even better now, in how she is able to bring the party together, after saying the things she has said/done, and the kind of fanatic anger her followers seem to have (as do some Obama supporters). Only she has the power to heal them, along with Mr.Obama.

And for those Democrats who are going to sit at home or vote McCain because they may not get their candidate - also try cutting off your nose to spite your face. See how that works out for ya! I hope both Obama and Clinton supporters remember why they are Democrats before they start drowning in the haze of anger against candidates of their own party, because of race, or words or gender. What is at stake is far bigger than individual people - it is about policies, the future of this country and our children and theirs. Don't be so shortsighted and selfish in your anger.

[William, aka, Haji Mohammd]

No one, including Barak Obama, a Harvard lawyer, can use logic,
written contracts, empowerment of the Democratic party, and other
peaceful means so that over and above emancipation from under the table
nepotism created by unreported dna contributions of candidates who can
register for public office without placing their dna prints on file,
neither the right to cast an informed ballot, nor the right of children
(world wide) conceived by such dna contributions to be freed from the
'glass ceiling' that keeps them 'inside' the blood line security
'Serf's Down' chains of command resulting from looking so much like
their 'famous' progenitor can be furthered in any way by the strategy
of election, impeachment, and conviction of HRC re: co-conspirator re:
"Bill's babies" (1,000's of them)laid out here over the past six (6)
months and on file in the Dallas federal district court, and the Cedar
Rapids federal district court. {{Also xref: "The US Secret Police Bush
Family Dynasty" and the NYTimes.com or "Washington Post" "Open
Secret..." headline that followed which of the early posts regarding
this "Aeonflux" juggernaut vs. Private civilians like Paul McCartney
who are entitled to have large, rainbow peace families by dna
contribution without being required to report same}}

[08vote]

Did Obama EVER insinuate that Clinton was a Lesbian, while she insinuated on CBS (a mainstream media outlet) that Obama could possibly be Muslim. Did you see or hear outrage of that CBS insinuation from the Obama Campaign, but yet heard outrage from the Clinton campaign of sexism.... this prolonged election brought out some pretty ugly stuff.

[Myron]

As an Obama supporter, do I think he will do the best job of the 3 candidates? Honestly, I don't know. All I can go on is what I have seen and read about these 3 candidates for the past 16 months. This IS what I know:

McCain is too old. He is forgetting what he has said in past statements and is becoming the mother of all flip flop artists. His rhetoric tells me that he will get us into more wars if he is elected. Too hard line.

With Hillary, this country is going to get more of the same in terms of lack of transparency and hyper spin in her adminstration. Anybody tired of the Bush adminstration will be equally tired of her act. Do we honestly think we will get the truth out of the White House with her at the helm?

I get a sense that most Americans want a certain level of honestly in their politicians. THIS is the main reason that Obama has been so effective. He brings a level of integrity to the campaign. I can't think of much that I didn't think was geniune. Of the 3 candidates, he and John McCain are the only ones who have apologized and taken personal responsibility for some of the mistakes they have made in the campaign. He has run a successful and efficient campaign. He has raised more money from ordinary citizens than any other candidate ever. Finally, he has run a mostly positive campaign and did not take advantage of Clinton mispeaks and mistakes when he could have. A man who walks the walk instead of just talking it.

Finally, I think he has been judged unfairly by some of the people who he has associated with. It's fair to ask the question, but to make assumptions about those associations without any other evidence is ridiculous. If Mr. Obama truly held the views of Rev. Wright, Ayers, Rezko, Fleglar etc. don't you think some speech, or written document, or interview, or sound byte, or some witness accounts by or about Obama would have surfaced by now? Usually people who ascribe their beliefs to the beliefs of others display that from time to time. I wonder if Sean Hannity were running for president would some of his associations be suspect. If you live in a glass house don't throw stones.

[Palmer Eldritch]

G Casey,

You should be ashamed of yourself. Your choice of metaphor makes it clear that you are a virulent bigot who regards both women and African-Americans as animals.

[hutchins,wayne, sr.]

It is sad to admit but Einstine was right in saying;" There is a limit to what we can know but no limit to how ignorant we might get." We in America are getting as dumb as a box of rocks,....the rockiest wabble, shake, in office. They shake the nation with their ignorance and attack the world with weapons they fear will be turned on them, cowards all!

Let knowledge and truth in love and understanding be the way we follow, string in truth not myth or lies.
LOVE WAYNE SR.

[Benny]

You Obama lemmings better be careful of what you wish for. How can this inexperienced man, who seems to have been given so many opportunities based on his potential, beat out an experienced senator and former POW?

[Anthony]

Thank you Hillary. Now let's join Barack Obama and go beat McSame.

[ibc]

"Why should Hillary quit? It would be like leaving a "whodunnit" play before the final act."

Only if the play had a blood-drenched butler appear in Act II, only to come on and deliver a soliloquy commencing with "I, who am such a guilty butler, did indeed kill the sad victim..."

And maybe the air-conditioning is not working in the theater. Let's go get a drink.

[tha show]

too bad the democratic party remains an expert on tripping on its own feet.

it had two great candidates...and what happened?

they have already done all of the dirty work for the republican party.

they have split their own party down the middle, some clinton voters already claiming they will vote for mccain instead of obama in the presidential election.

instead of hammering the shortcomings and screw ups of george bush, clinton & obama attacked each other to smithereens...

and now bush seems to be a forgotten man...

if the democratic party can't win an election after 8 horrible years of bush, then they simply can't win.

- a registered democrat

[robinia]

A couple of years ago, there was a t.v. drama that starred Geena Davis titled "Commander in Chief" on ABC. In it's freshmen season it was higly touted and publicized. In a way, it almost seemed as if this show was silently campaigning for Hillary, because in those days it was a strong speculation that she would run for President. The second season proved to be fatal -for whatever reason, low ratings, re-scheduling, blah-blah-blah,- and was axed unceremoniously.

Karma, providence, or whatever... at its best.

[robinia]

There came a point when Ms. Clinton crossed that fine-line from tough and tenacious, to desperate and pathetic. It's too bad, really. She just didn't know "when" to surrender.

All these blunders in the past month or two, on her part, have ruined her crediblity and the political bite to even run a campaign in 2012. She's not as smart as everyone thought.

Honestly, she lost it with me when she was clamoring for "change", only to have her husband Bill standing right behind her. It was an "oxymoron" of an image. She lost my attention and any credibility, right at that point.