In June, the DLC holds their convention in Chicago. They are, as a faction of the DNC, holding on by a string. They are desperate, and the DNC is desperate to evict them. Many of us watching closely have known that this is as much a battle between the DLC and the DNC for control over the Democratic Party as it is a battle between Obama and Clinton.
Put another way, Howard Dean and his 50-state, bottom-up, grassroots strategy has been every thing the DLC has been against. They are top down, 50%+1, centralised power, and they are close to being evicted by the DNC.
If the nomination goes to Obama (which it most likely will), it will be a mortal wound to the DLC, giving the DNC (a larger majority) the chance to come together and stand firm against the DLC. There are many party leaders privately wringing their hands, afraid to stand up to the Clintons and the power of the DLC, but an Obama nomination would allow them to do so.
Many have said that Clinton may be entering a scorched-earth policy in order to make Obama unelectable in the general, so that she can make another run in 2012. But I would argue that it may go even farther than that. Obama is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate with an oratorical power not seen since the Kennedys. Even with the damage that's been done to him by her so far, he still stands an excellent chance of pulling the party together and pulling out a victory against the Republicans.
A general election defeat is the end of the DLC. Dean would be vindicated, the Democratic Party would become powerful and victorious, and the party would be able to publicly reject every thing the DLC has ever stood for. This is not something the DLC would leave to chance, especially considering that, after the convention, the Clintons would be expected to go stump for Obama for the general.
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see the DLC decide to run Hillary as their candidate in the general, acting as a spoiler to sink Obama. If this happens, the Democratic party would deflate, and the DLC would be able to pick up the pieces and arrange them to their liking. It happened before, with McGovern, where the Democratic Party sacrificed their chances at the Presidency in order to keep the more liberal left-wing from amassing too much power in the party.
Will it happen again? We'll find out for sure in June. While Pelosi, Gore, Dean and Edwards may be privately figuring out how to get Hillary out of the primary, the DLC may be planning a general election run. We'll find out in June. I could very well be wrong, but I wouldn't put it past the DLC: They've shown they're not interested in anything other than their own power, and 4 years of McCain for them isn't too high a price to pay for a chance to take over the party in 2012.