Even as Obama racked up large margins in his preferred demographics Hillary’s constituency refused to be swayed. Obama has not found a way to reach out beyond his base. As long as Hillary stays in the race it is in her best interest to highlight this fact and acerbate this rift. As a result, less than half of her supporters in North Carolina said they were prepared to vote for Obama over McCain come November.
That brings us back to the first question: Who will tell Hillary to drop out? Who has the influence and seniority to tell her it is over? Howard Dean? Al Gore? Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid? It is hard to see any of them carrying much weight with the Clintons.
No, Hillary will only stop when she is convinced there is no longer the slightest chance of victory. She is convinced that a Democrat is poised to win in November no matter what happens between now and the convention and she will use every tactic and loophole open to her and probably create a few of her own.
A sure sign that she is planning to fight to the very end is news that she has loaned the campaign $6.4 million in the last month for a total loan of nearly $12 million. Her campaign has made it clear that they view any resolution that doesn’t involve the seating of the Florida and Michigan delegates as illegitimate. This means even after the primary the fight moves on to committee meetings and maybe even the convention itself.
Last night had the feel of something decisive. But the underlying question remains: how far is she willing to go and how much damage can she do?
Only Hillary knows the answer to that question.