I can already hear the howling: So you think McCain would be better? A continuation of Bush's disastrous foreign, economic, health and energy policies? More GOP Supreme Court judges? Any Democrat would be better for the country, so if she manages to get the nomination, hold your nose and pull the lever for Clinton, you fool.

This will be brief and without supporting quotes and references. Just a late night sense I'm getting from events in this unfolding primary passion play.  

It is now a critical issue of paramount concern:

More than the real prospect of losing the general election to John McCain in November due to the self-destructive spiral of this increasingly ugly and damaging primary - it is clear that the very soul of the Democratic Party is at stake.

Since neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama can reach the magic number of pledged delegates, it falls to you Superdelegates to make the call. We implore you to consider the following, and to get off the benches, now:

The Clinton campaign has pulled out all the stops to torpedo the Obama candidacy, now clearly trying to paint him as the 'black' (and 'affirmative action') candidate who can't win the big states, and thus would lose to McCain in November.

Ironically and shortsightedly, it is highly improbable that Hillary Clinton could win the general election without the black vote, which she is now in the process of blowing away forever.

It's reasonable for Arizona Senator John McCain to count on carrying his home state in November, and a recently released statewide poll suggests he will do just that.

One of the major arguments in this presidential campaign concerns who is more ready to be Commander In Chief. Hillary Clinton stakes her claim to unique readiness based on her 35 years of political experience. Here I would draw attention to an interesting analysis of Clinton's 35-year claim which can be found at politifact.com, in "Adding up Clinton's 35-year Claim" by Bill Adair.

Whether one accepts her claim as completely valid or not, Barack Obama responds in part by calling attention to Clinton's judgment, notably on the subject of the disastrous war in Iraq, pointing out that she voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, which he opposed. Obama asserts that he has the superior judgment required by the job.

What constitutes readiness, if one can indeed be truly ready for the awesome responsibilities of Commander In Chief? Does experience trump judgment, which is rooted in character? What does it take to succeed?