I know there's been a lot of fuss and anxiety about Hillary not conceding gracefully, and taking her case to the convention in Denver. It's not going to happen for a number of reasons. And even if she does, it really won't matter. Follow me after the bump.
- Once Obama reaches 2025 (or the new number set by the DNC), it's over. There's no rule that says the losing candidate has to be nice about it. But, once a candidate reaches the magic number, it's over. Period.
- There's absolutely no appetite in the Democratic Party for a fight at the convention. If it looks like it's headed in that direction, expect MANY high-profile Democrats, including Clinton superdelegates, to call for HRC to get out. Having daily calls for her to terminate her candidacy is not a great way to spend your summer. Pelosi, Gore, Dean, Emmanuel, and others will NOT go along with any plans that could hurt the party.
- Say it does go to the convention. The credentials committee is controlled by the delegate leader, which will be Obama. The committee would shut her out within the first hour.
- HRC has no money. Obama will be opening general election offices all over the country, and will be traveling to battleground state after battleground state. She'd have no resources to fight through the summer in the unlikely event of a convention ruling in her favor, anyway.
- The Clintons care about their legacy. If they drug this thing out to Denver, they'd be hated in the party. They'd lose every bit of respect from party leaders, and they'd never recover. HRC's future political ambitions would be over. No leadership position in the Senate. No future run for the presidency, if Obama loses. No support even for her reelection campaign in 2012.
- Rinse and repeat.