The way I see it, Clinton will gracefully exit the race in one of three possible ways. She's not taking it to the convention. If there were any hint of her doing so, the superdelegates, including many of her own, would come out en masse for Obama.
Clinton will withdraw her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in one of the three following ways.
Which will it be?
- The Kentucky Exit. Clinton knows she's likely to win Kentucky. On the same night, Obama will declare victory in Oregon, having received the majority of all the pledged delegates. This way, she can exit on a high note, a probable big victory in the Kentucky Primary. On the flip side, with just two states left, why not finish out the calendar?
- The South Dakota/Montana Exit. By now, Hillary would know the outcome of the DNC's decision regarding Florida and Michigan. And as the last returns come in that night, HRC, perhaps in a joint appearance with Obama, concedes defeat and promises to help defeat the Republicans in the fall. This strategy would also promise network primetime coverage of her concession, but so would the Kentucky exit.
- The June 5th Exit. Having contested every primary and caucus in the U.S., two days later, HRC calls a press conference for her joint appearance with Barack Obama. The cable networks go wild with speculation of Hillary's exit. The major broadcast networks interrupt programming, and sure enough, HRC concedes and promises to help Obama win in November.