George Stephanopoulos speculates that Clinton is staying in the race in order to place a stronger bid for the vice president spot. hmmm…. that gets the brain cogs working:

Is Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., staying in the race to get the vice presidential slot?

George thinks so.

CHARLES GIBSON: George, she puts on a brave face in public. What’s going on behind the scenes?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, I think it’s fair to say … that everyone’s waiting for a signal from her on how to go forward. Today, the signal was very clear — we’re staying in — [according to] the Clinton campaign. And it’s based on the hope that anything can happen. And that every Democrat deserves a vote. That’s the principal they’re running on right now. The arguments against, inside right now, are you may be spending a lot more money in [a] futile effort. You may also be dividing the party the longer you go on. You heard (California Sen.) Dianne Feinstein say that as well, but the math just doesn’t work.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Think of her like Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger; you can keep putting bullets in them, but somehow they just won’t die. Clinton is much the same. She’s lost the delegate race- even if not by the margin needed to solidify. These past two primaries have basically made it one step from impossible to win. She’s losing her argument against Obama’s electability as the thing she wants super-delegates to look for in her.

It’s over for Hillary Clinton. But she won’t stop.

Obama’s camp has even come out to say they’d feel comfy giving her the majority of the delegates she’d have won in Michigan and Florida had those two states not been being boycotted by the Dems for moving their primaries ahead of schedule. So why continue?

Some look at her as a Rocky Balboa figure, refusing to stay down, wanting to go the distance- which is great for ego and all, but does nothing of benefit for the Dems themselves. In fact, it does more harm than good. Which is why I find the comparison to the stars of the slasher/horror flicks more fitting. But then, ego and quest for personal glory and gain has always been a big motivator for the Clinton’s. We really shouldn’t be surprised by all of this. What is surprising is that no one seeks to stop her. Of course, that likely has to do more with party members watching their own backs and doing their best not to piss off Clinton’s loyal followers, which could have adverse effects on their positions.

Chicken Shits.

I would love the chance to sit down with her, just for myself, and ask her- why? Why do you honestly keep this up when you’re tearing your party apart? Even with controversy and scandal and speculation nipping at his heels, Obama can beat you. Why do you go on? Of course, I know I’d only get spin and rhetoric in response, so maybe it’s just not worth it.

Someday this will end. That’s what I have to keep telling myself to keep from going clock-tower climbing. (kidding, I’d never do such a thing… do you hear me Homeland Security, I’m joking. Ok?)

*sigh*

Popularity: 2% [?]

As Clinton and Obama continue pandering to crowds in hopes of winning the Indiana primaries, a small revelation has come to light. Well, not really a big surprise… Republicans dig Obama over Clinton.

At Clinton’s rally here, the state’s top Democrat and her main backer, Sen. Evan Bayh, seemed to be lowering expectations, telling the Sun-Times that Clinton started way behind rival Barack Obama, “he has outspent her 2-1, and he has won every other state that borders Illinois. I think it’s very close — it could go either way.”

A surprising number of registered Republicans — who can pull Democratic ballots on Election Day — came to both events.

“We were with eight Republicans last night and six of them are voting for Obama,” said retired firefighter Dan O’Neill, 63.

“I like how family oriented he is,” said Caroline Harlan, a 26-year-old Republican. Obama had his wife and daughters with him all weekend.

Exit polls show most Republicans who have crossed over to vote Democratic in this primary voted for Obama, responding to his message of reaching out to work across party lines. That bodes well for Obama in this Republican state.

“She’ll win the Democrats,” Bayh said. “The others, I’m not so sure.”

At the Clinton event, registered Republican Sally Anepper, 53, was deciding whether to vote for Clinton or McCain, but not Obama.

“His pastor’s anti-American comments really bothered me,” she said.

As hard as he has tried to move past Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s bombastic comments, Obama spent the first 20 minutes on “Meet the Press” Sunday giving the same answers to the same questions about why he gave Wright the benefit of the doubt for so long.

So basically, folks who are listening to Obama himself are more likely to vote for him than those who listen to others either once affiliated with him, or reports about him. Which could be quite disastrous for his campaign when considering everything that has been going against him; Rezko scandals, Rev. Wright’s comments, and all the still lingering suspicions of some (somehow they’re still out there- believe me, I’ve met some of them) that Obama is a Muslim.

In her Sunday-morning appearance on ABC, Clinton was asked to name a single economist who supports her plan for a summer gas-tax holiday, which Obama continued to blast Sunday as a “gimmick” that would save drivers little and torpedo road repair projects.

“I’m not going to put in my lot with economists,” Clinton said.

“Who understands what you’re going through?” she asked the crowd at Indiana Tech. “People drive a lot of long distances in Indiana. I’ve driven a lot of long distances in Indiana. I think between my husband, my daughter and me, we’ve made 95 stops in Indiana. We believe Indiana matters.”

Obama and his wife have made 28 stops in Indiana.

Clinton said she watched as a pick-up truck driver spent $63 to fill just half a tank of gas.

Clinton has the Midwest cred in her past, and that could work in her favor in Indiana.

With both candidates neck and neck at this point… I’m sorry. I really can’t pretend to be anything but put off by this entire long lasting ridiculous fiasco that does nothing but continue to highlight the glaring deficiencies of all the parties involved, and I can’t wait until the primaries are over, and even the election itself, so I can stop being inundated with all of this nonsense, and we can finally find out what direction our country is going to go in with the leadership of the next Commander in Chief.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Democratic primaries are still drudging on. Dear Lord, they’re still marching forward like some contemporary death march.

And now we’re turning our attention to a U.S. territory that most Americans can’t even point to on a map. Are the Democrats really so desperate as to cling to a small island with a population smaller than a suburb of any American city?

Today Obama and Clinton will cat fight for the nine delegate votes Guam has to offer. (Thirteen total delegates; eight only count as half votes, five are full votes.) In the scope of Presidential elections, this is about as big as a thimble in a beer keg.

Clinton brags that she’s actually “visited” Guam once (a layover in 1995 en route to China as the First lady). Obama brags that he was born geographically closer to Guam (in Hawaii) than Clinton (Illinois). Neither of these reasons should make any difference to the Guamanian voters. And quite frankly, it doesn’t make much difference to mainlanders who have become so exhausted by the Democratic battle, we’ve succumbed to actually reading the dribble coming out of McCain’s mouth as a form of refreshing entertainment.

I guess the bottom line here is something that most media outlets aren’t willing to say: Guam really doesn’t matter. Eight delegates will have little impact in comparison to the vast number of delegates that have already dropped their votes in the pot. Neither will it matter anymore to the weary voters who have turned sour with the pre-game warm-up that is the Clinton/Obama cage match. Either way, Guam has her spotlight for the next 24 hours and with that, we gratefully creep closer to an end.

Update 10:55pm CST:

CNN reporting Guam results. Obama wins by 7 votes. SEVEN!! This means Obama and Clinton will both get two delegates. The primary is still a dead heat and we’re still pounding our heads against the wall. Incredible.

The finale in Guam proves one thing: it never really mattered to begin with.

(CNN) — Barack Obama has won the Guam Democratic caucuses by a margin of 7 votes. Obama and Hillary Clinton will split the U.S. territory’s four pledged delegate votes evenly, with two apiece.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Did it surprise anyone that Clinton took Pennsylvania? I’m willing to wager that the Obama camp wasn’t shocked she won the popular vote in that state either. The fact that the Obama camp hasn’t gotten it’s feathers ruffled by the defeat is what’s particularly bothersome.

Most of us knew Clinton would take Pennsylvania. Sometimes demographics don’t lie. She had a lock on the state’s voters long before the ballets were cast; older, white, and female. It was just a matter of determining the margin of victory.

What’s got me irked then?

Money.

Flush with cash, Obama reported spending $11.2 million on television in the state, more than any place else. That compared with $4.8 million for Clinton.

Wow. Obama sure spent a lot of cash on a state that was destined to sway towards Clinton. Not to mention, before the Penn. primary, it was statistically unlikely Clinton will win enough delegates to receive the Democratic nomination.

And from what I can determine, the vast amount of spending Obama put into this states primary could only mean one thing:

Obama has long since past the point of his race with Clinton as being just business. Now, it’s personal. It’s so personal that he’s willing to spend nearly 25% of his on hand cash on a state that was favoring Clinton from day one.

Now, who was saying something about Obama and Clinton becoming running mates? They better be put up in two White Houses then.

Popularity: 2% [?]