It’s true that Hillary Clinton could still win the Democratic nomination this year, but it’s also true that I could be elected Pope. Any Catholic male over the age of 7 is eligible, and I’ve got that covered. But to be the democratic nominee, you need to have a majority of the delegates, and Hillary is nowhere near reaching that numbers. Nor is she likely to. The polls don’t favor her, the slate of remaining primaries doesn’t favor her, there’s not going to be do-overs in Michigan and Florida, and her opponent keeps turning hay (Jeremiah Wright) into gold (a pitch-perfect speech on race), while she keeps stumbling into unforced errors like claiming she was shot at in Bosnia. At this point, her path to victory would require Obama to melt down in almost a Spitzer-like way. It’s just not likely—not even remotely likely. Right now, the smartest move she could make for herself and for her party is to suspend her campaign, if not actually throw in the towel. Here’s why:
First, everybody admires a gracious loser. Ask Al Gore.
Second, by leaving now, she preserves all the good will she acquired this past year. Clinton ran an awfully good campaign, and showed herself to be presidential material. She was great in the debates. She lost to a phenomenon, and there’s no shame in that. The longer she hangs on, however, the more she becomes the object of jibes and jokes.
She shouldn’t let that happen. If Obama were to lose in the fall, she would be well-positioned to say `I told you so,’ and begin working for 2012. And if he wins, she could stay in the Senate and be a powerful and influential leader for next 25 years, someone who could actually have a more profound effect on the future of this country than, say, Bill Clinton did. There are worse fates. Teddy Kennedy can tell you that.
Third, she avoids living the nightmare of being a sore loser who cripples her party’s choice because her ego gets in the way. Should Obama lose, and it’s perceived that her bad behavior was a factor, her future prospects will evaporate.
Giving up will be a hard decision for her. Nobody runs for president if they have self-esteem issues, and surely it will be bitter for her to realize that her chance to be the first woman to become president will be, at best, deferred. But the reality is that she now has a better chance of winning the presidency in 2012 or 2016 than she does in 2008.
Sometimes we lead by stepping aside. That is the best move left to her, and the sooner she takes it, the better off she’ll be.