To stay in at this point, Hillary needs a "mission"! And homage to "Hillary" is not a mission!

[cascadiance]

There are many candidates that know they aren't winning or likely to win in past elections who've "stayed in to the bloody end". They know they're not going to win as well, though they might not try to play up that fact much. They're running because they want to champion a cause that they feel will not get noticed otherwise if they were to drop out. Jesse Jackson has done this. Dennis Kucinich has done this. And John Edwards has done this (though not to the length I would have liked to see him do it).

If those campaigns were just about "vote for me, because I am the right person to solve your problems", with no specifics other than things like "I have more experience", "I'm more likable", etc. then if America has spoken and already chosen someone else to a point where the writing is on the wall, that candidacy really needs to pull out if they are interested in keeping the party's message going and strong. If they are more self-centered and still try to push their candidacy despite this "writing on the wall", not only do they not have a mission on a few issues that need attention, but they are destroying the overall mission of the party in the interests of rewarding themselves somehow.

If Hillary were to pick an issue she thought Obama wasn't working hard enough on, and I do believe there are issues that he still could be more forthright on, and really work hard on pushing that issue as a part of her continuing her campaign, then that would make what she's doing valuable. But she's not. At this stage also, even though there are issues that need attention of the sort that Edwards brought out, etc., she has a track record and history that would make it hard for her to argue for those issues, since she would be shown to not be consistently arguing for them.

One issue that she could make a statement about that might help her get something into Obama's and the party's platform, which would help history be kinder to her for this prolonged campaign might be something like gay rights, which I think is one area where she could argue that she's been more diligent and thoughtful about her support of (and has constituency that support her for this). Obama on this issue probably could have some stronger support for it. If she were to bow out with him making a big gesture to the gay community with his campaign, and her saying something like "Obama's support for this community of Americans", and perhaps Obama's support for other similar issues, "shows that he's what America needs to lead it", would make her getting out at this time a constructive one for her to build on in the future with her senate or other political office ambitions (NY governor?!). Gay rights is just one issue where I think she can make a dent like this. There might be others too, but she's not been championing this or any of these others and more championing herself, which most Americans who want democratic rule and not crony serving rule don't want to hear at this point of the campaign.

It's time for her to pull out now!