Paving the media narrative for Clinton's defeat

There's no doubt that no other candidate in this race would've survived the kind of drubbing Clinton received in February without the media abandoning that campaign in droves. But Hillary is a rock star Democrat, with a former president as a spouse, so the national political media had no choice but to follow along.

That wasn't a bad thing. No one should weep when the political press sees some of its power diminished. And really, the race wasn't over at the time. But eventually, the math became impossible for Clinton and she set out on her current path of coup by super delegate. It was the only way she could win this thing after enough voters had decided they wanted Obama to be their nominee.

But fed by the uncertainties of Michigan, Florida, and the super delegates, and the Clinton campaign's masterful way of glossing over her obvious disadvantages, the national media continued to pretend Clinton still had a chance in this thing, as NBC's Chuck Todd notes:

A Clinton always finds a way to survive, so goes the myth [...]

[W]hile the mechanics of the Democratic nomination fight overwhelmingly favor Obama, the media is giving Clinton a huge lift. And this comes after a year of Clinton complaints that the media was doing them more harm than good.

But apparently, the news out of Michigan and Florida may have lifted enough of that uncertainty to begin shifting that media narrative. Uber-CW-meister (and professional asshole) Mark Halperin, formerly of The Note, and now at Time, delivers the cruel blow:

Monday's decision by Florida Democrats to abandon their efforts to hold a new primary, in order to get their delegation seated at the national party's August convention, is another blow to Hillary Clinton's attempt to close the small but near-impregnable delegate gap on her rival, Barack Obama. And she's having little more luck in Michigan [...]

Clinton's only hope now in Florida would be for the national party's credentials committee, which meets later this year, to change course and count some or all of the delegates elected in January. But most Democrats - and even some of Clinton's supporters - believe this is unlikely [...]

The Obama campaign has cleverly slow-walked the debate over the Florida and Michigan primaries, knowing that the clock on their side. With Florida essentially giving up, and Michigan struggling to find a solution, Clinton's time - and options - are fast running out.

That's the polite way of saying, "this thing is over, folks."