Oh yes, it's time. It's time for us to step back and ask that question. That question we've all been wondering but haven't gotten around to voicing yet. In the past, there was always the rational that new votes were around the corner and that the exposure that the Democrats were garnering through a protracted contest was good free publicity for the party.
But now things are different. There are no elections in the near future (we're speaking in political time where weeks feel like years), and the level of discourse has dissolved into increasingly personal and angry attacks that threaten the unity of the party. Publicity is only good when it's positive.
So it's time then to ask that question, which can be phrased in any number of ways:
"What is Hillary still doing in the race when she has no reasonable chance of winning the nomination in a way that wouldn't be disastrous for the party?"
"When will Hillary drop out?"
"Why is Hillary continuing to heap praises on John McCain while attacking Obama when it is clear he will be the Democratic nominee?"
And...
"How long will it take for Hillary to wake up to the reality that she has already lost this race?"
As I write this, the returns are still coming in from Mississippi. However, the television networks were able to assure us that result is not in question, and for a rather depressing reason: blacks voted 9 to 1 for Obama, while whites "only" voted 3 to 1 for Hillary. The electorate was roughly split 50-50 between white and black voters.
For those who haven't noticed, this race is getting ugly. The election in Mississippi, which seems to have divided significantly along racial lines, comes on the same day that former Democratic VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro made racially insensitive comments about Obama's candidacy. We also learned today that Obama definitely won more delegates in Texas than Hillary due to a substantial margin of victory in the caucus in that state. According to Bill Clinton's own admission losing Texas constitutes insufficient grounds for Hillary to continue on in this race. Aside from the unhappy news of today's racially divided election, the other news from Mississippi confirms what voters in Wyoming suggested on Saturday: that any momentum from Hillary's "big" wins in Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas (which is now a delegate loss for her) is very short-lived.
All of these new revelations come as we enter a new portion of the race: a unique six week lull with no electoral contests. Finally, in what will surely be an electoral eternity, Pennsylvania will vote on April 22. The demographics of the state seem to favor Hillary, and she will likely win it. But as we have learned in the week since Ohio, a Hillary victory does not mean that the momentum will suddenly shift enormously in her favor. To the contrary, it seems that Obama will continue to win states that favor him while she will win those that favor her. North Carolina and Indiana, which together offer more pledged delegates than Pennsylvania, vote two weeks later on May 6 and, although it is close in Indiana, Obama could potentially win both states. Of the remaining states, Hillary seems likely to win in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico, while Obama looks certain to win in Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota. Then there is the issue of Florida and Michigan. If we reach a solution that is remotely fair, there will be some sort of revote in June. Obama will do better in those states from being able to campaign there and by listing his real name, as opposed to "Uncommitted," in Michigan. The point here is that Obama will continue to win in his favored demographics, while Hillary will win in hers, and Obama's pledged delegate lead will remain essentially unchanged.
So let us review. With no electoral contests coming up in the next six weeks, the knowledge that Hillary has in fact lost delegates in Texas, a state which Bill said she must win to have a shot at the nomination, and the realization that Hillary's "momentum" from last week was insufficient to prevent Barack from handily winning the states that are favorable to him, we have reached a turning point in this campaign. Obama's lead in pledged delegates seems unlikely to erode much, if at all, even if we count every last vote in every last state and territory in this country through the middle of June. If Hillary is going to win this nomination, she will have to do it by using the superdelegates to overturn the will of the voters, but as Psi Fighter's diary on the rec list attests, this is likely to be extremely damaging to the Democratic Party as a whole, and threatens to turn away the throngs of under-30 voters (of which I am a member) that could potentially fuel the party for decades to come.
We have reached a point, in other words, where it is entirely legitimate to ask whether Hillary Clinton should continue on in this race. Her chances of winning the nomination through reasonable means are remote and if even she did win it, most level-headed analysts would recognize such an outcome as a disaster for the party. In the meantime, the battle is intensifying, negative attacks are skyrocketing (primarily from Clinton's campaign, which has often seemed more willing to destroy Obama and promote McCain than to supporting the likely eventual Democratic nominee), and McCain is gradually solidifying the support of his party around him and raising money. Also, the supporters of Hillary and Barack are becoming more antagonistic toward each other and the chance that a prolonged contest for the nomination will seriously divide the party seems more and more likely by the day.
In short, it has come to this: for the good of the Democratic Party, and thus for the country, it is time for you Hillary Clinton to step down and end your campaign. The sooner you do this, the better, because another six weeks of winter looks to fall disastrously hard on what should instead be a glorious springtime for the Democratic Party.