The Pressure Builds on Hillary

Even Democrats are tiring of the ongoing battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and many are hoping that Tuesday's elections will be the effective end of the race:

Democrat Hillary Clinton faced pressure Sunday to abandon her White House bid heading into pivotal contests in Ohio and Texas that are unlikely to dent Barack Obama's surging momentum.

Democratic grandees who are supporting Obama said that for the sake of party unity, Clinton should consider her options after Tuesday's primary battles as the Republicans rally behind their heir apparent, John McCain.

The pressure on the former first lady intensified as new polls suggested she was deadlocked with Obama in Texas and Ohio, far from the kind of blowout wins that she needs to overhaul his lead among Democratic delegates.

However, the former first lady has come out firing against her rival, issuing an ominous television spot that suggests Obama would be ill-prepared to protect US children in the event of a foreign-policy crisis.

"This is a wartime election," she told a rally Sunday in the Ohio town of Westerville.

"For some people, this election is about how you feel. It is about speeches. That is not what it is about for me," she said. "It is about solutions."

One party elder not yet endorsing either candidate, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, said "the bickering between these two very fine senators is going on too long" as they fought running battles over national security.

"D Day is Tuesday. We have to have a positive campaign after Tuesday," Richardson, who abandoned his own White House bid in January, said on CBS News.

"Whoever has the most delegates after Tuesday, a clear lead, should be in my judgment the nominee."

Thanks to the system the Democrats put in place, barring a blowout by Clinton in both Ohio and Texas, she's certain to end the day with fewer delegates than Obama. However, I don't think it will be over because there's still the battle over the delegates in Michigan and Florida to be decided, and should that go Hillary's way, she might find herself very close or even ahead of Obama. She also still has hopes of superdelegates, though they've been flocking to Obama lately.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be interesting.

UPDATE: A repeat of the Florida primary at taxpayer expense? I say no unless the Dem party pays for the whole thing.