In her seemingly endless desire to position herself as an underdog/scrappy/fighter, Hillary recently embraced the imagery of Eight Belles - the fillie who ran in the Kentucky Derby last week. Unfortunately, like Eight Belles, Hillary - politically - also needs to be 'put down' and taken out of her misery. She is writhing around on the political track - mortally wounded by her unsuccessful race for the presidency. Now it seems that the only political argument she has left is that white folks won't vote for a black man. Yesterday she invoked all sorts of loaded, coded racial language about how "Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." Apparently, she feels she must take this shameful tack to fabricate the political case for her to continue - basing her message almost exclusively on arguments against Barack Obama as opposed to for herself.

At this point, there is no way that Hillary Clinton can win the Democratic nomination. She knows it. Barack knows it. Even the press have gotten to the point where they have admitted it: Tim Russert, NBC's preeminent political personality acknowledged as much on Tuesday night essentially saying "It's Over". Yet she continues . . .

Sometimes people get so close to something that they can no longer be rational about it. They can no longer be trusted to make good decisions or to even have their own best interests at heart because there are too many lingering emotional issues getting in the way. Does anyone think that this is not the case with Hillary now? Maybe she's proceeding as she is out of personal ego. Maybe it's about proving something to Bill. Who knows? Either way, she is clearly at the point where her behavior is inflicting damage to not only herself but to the party as well.

Lots of Hillary sympathetics like to say that she should stay in the race for as long as she wants. They seem to personalize the decision - suggesting that this this should be Hillary's call alone. Bunk. Politics is a team sport. (Anyone remember Al Gore and his run for the White House, essentially, giving in for the sake of the party and the country?) Hillary and Barack may be the last candidates standing, but please don't think that it wasn't the party that got them to this point. Barack was a political irrelevant before his speech at the DNC convention. Similarly, the Democratic party has been the vehicle driving the Clintons' political aspirations for a generation.

Every day that Hillary continues to scratch and claw on she, effectively, reinforces the message that her actions are about her and her alone. Apparently she would much rather provide the Republicans with a compromised candidate in the fall then give the Democratic nominee the best chance at winning the presidency. The longer she snipes from the sidelines - attacking Barack with endless personal and racial mortar of the most incendiary variety - the greater the chance that Barack will be a wounded nominee limping toward November. It's a shame.

Instead of the imagery of a horse, maybe one of a pit bull is more appropriate here. Maybe Hillary is like the pit bull that locks its jaws on something and just will not release - whatever the consequences. But then again, maybe the horse analogy does hold. Maybe, like Eight Belles, Hillary is being ridden by her jockey (Bill) beyond her abilities and without regard to whether she can actually win or not. Some have suggested that Eight Belles was run . . . to death. Maybe Hillary is facing a similar political reality. Who knows? Either way, and whatever analogy you prefer, the result will be the same. Every speech and every interview that she gives is just further testament to her political narcissism and egocentrism. It's almost as if she's saying to herself, "I'm Hillary Clinton. This can't be happening to me." It happened. Accept reality. Move on. And if you have any intention to continue in Democratic politics, get ready to support the Obama ticket with as much energy and enthusiasm as you did your own candidacy. Get out there and undue the damage that you inflicted. Canvass the country and get every white disaffected voter that you turned off to Barack in the primary to now vote for him. Show that you can be a team player and that you can, in fact, think of someone other than yourself. (If Barack wins can't you just hear Hillary and Bill touting the fact they they got the first black man elected president?!)

If she can't do it though, she'll turn into a perpetually bitter personality who fades into political irrelevance. It's up to you Hillary. What's it going to be?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MBM,

She should've used Danica Patrick as an example instead of Eight Belles. At least Danica won her race at the Japan 300.