WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.
The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City. Obama is 40 delegates shy of clinching the nomination, but he is widely expected to make up the difference Tuesday with superdelegate support and votes in South Dakota and Montana. Once he reaches the magic number of 2,118, Clinton will acknowledge that he has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee.
She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.
I wonder if she negotiated a deal with Obama to pay off her campaign debts, or even secure the VP nomination? She certainly sounded feistier the other day when negotiations where said to be underway.
Now what happens if the rumored Michelle Obama bombshell drops? Hillary will feel pretty stupid walking away at the moment the Obama campaign implodes. But, of course, the delegate votes aren't final until they're case in Denver, so should Obama's chances evaporate by then, the convention could still turn toward Hillary.
And, on this day when she will apparently concede, she'll be administering another Obama butt-kicking in South Dakota where she's expected to win by 25 points or more - another in a string of big wins against the Obamessiah.
I have to admit to mixed feelings. I've long looked forward to the day when the Clintons would be removed from the presidential political scene, and dreaded the possibility that she could be elected to the White House. However, she's put up a tough fight, and more importantly, kept the heat on Obama which has resulted in a variety of revelations about the Messiah that might not have come out without the ongoing nomination battle. We certainly can't count on McCain making the case against Obama.
I still think it's unlikely that Hillary will be chosen for VP. She doesn't want to be saddled with his loss in November, and if he should still fool enough people to win, she doesn't want to wait 8 years for another shot. Her best hope is staying off the ticket, giving the appearance of supporting Obama with token rallies, and then coming back in 2012 with an "I told you so" campaign.
We're probably not done with her yet.
UPDATE: No sooner written than proven true - now the Clinton camp says she won't concede after all. Operation Chaos lives!
Statement from the Clinton Campaign:
The AP story is incorrect. Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening.
The Obama people must be absolutely fuming.
As a sidenote, there's more evidence that Drudge is pulling for Obama. He still hasn't changed his "AP: She'll Concede the Delegates" headline and there's no mention of the Clinton campaign statement which has been out for at least 90 minutes.
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