The Dems: Hillary, Howard & Hush Hush

Even though I have alluded to the possibility myself, I don't think there is much chance of the Democratic Party beating itself to a pulp over a protracted fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the nomination. What is likely to happen as I noted here is that Clinton will use every trick in the book – overhanded, evenhanded and underhanded – to try to wrest the nomination from Obama.

What does cause concern is that the longer this slugfest lasts the less time the party will have to turn its guns on John McCain.

Ross Douthat puts it this way:

" . . . There's just too much going for the Democrats this year for the election not to remain eminently winnable no matter what happens (well, within reason) between here and the convention. Rather, the problem is that the party is losing a golden opportunity to try to put the race away early, the way Bill Clinton more or less did with Bob Dole in 1996 - by using their enormous fundraising advantage to rebrand John McCain as a Dole-style loser while he's still struggling to get his money-raising operation up to par. As Patrick Ruffini suggested earlier this week, if Obama had finished off Hillary last night he could have been up with anti-McCain ads all over the country immediately, forcing the GOP to play defense in places it usually owns all through the summer. Whereas the longer the race goes on, the less leverage the Dems' fundraising edge gives them, and the lower the chances that they can make it get late early for McCain through sheer dollar-power alone."

Back to you, Hillary.

IN PRAISE OF HOWARD DEAN

I never liked Howard Dean. Way too smarmy for my taste as a presidential wannabe. But he has worked wonders as Democratic National Committee chairman and deserves praise on two fronts:

* His insistence over some strenuous objections that the DNC needed to help revitalize moribund state and local parties was a masterstroke.

* His pioneering use of the Internet for fundraising and as a town square where Joe and Jane Sixpack could engage candidates has reshaped the electoral landscape.

If the Democrats do as well in state-level elections in November as is expected, they have two people to thank: George Bush and Howard Dean.

And by the by, Dr. Dean is absolutely right in declaring that it's up to Michigan and Florida to sort out their delegate messes.

THE RUMOR THAT WON'T DIE

Tom Brokaw was the first to break the "story" that Obama has a bloc of 50 superdelegates ready to jump into his arms, but it didn't make sense that this "secret" wasn't revealed in the run-up to the big Tuesday primaries since it would have been a significant boost to the campaign.

Well, now the Obama camp confirms that there is no secret bloc.

More here.

Cartoon by Tony Auth/The Philadelphia Inquirer