The Clinton Saga Ends Saturday

Finally, at long last the tumultuous journey that Hillary Clinton has been on will come to an end. It was a hard one to bring to a close but now we have confirmation she will endorse Senator Obama as the nominee this Saturday. Even last night as Obama crossed the threshold by earning enough delegates, Clinton gave a speech that touted her misleading popular vote count and single win of the night in South Dakota. Except for a few lines, there was no message of unity and certainly not one that addressed the reality of the race. Tonight that is thankfully changing.

From The NY Times:

Her decision came after a day of conversations with supporters on Capitol Hill about her future now that Mr. Obama had clinched the nomination. Mrs. Clinton had, in a speech after Tuesday night’s primaries, suggested that she wanted to wait before deciding about her future, but in conversations throughout the day on Wednesday, her aides said, she was urged to step aside.

“We pledged to support her to the end,” said Representative Charles B. Rangel, a New York Democrat who has been a patron of Mrs. Clinton since she first ran for the Senate. “Our problem is not being able to determine when the hell the end is.”

Mrs. Clinton’s decision came as some of her most prominent supporters — including former Vice President Walter F. Mondale — announced they were now backing Mr. Obama.

Most likely what happened today was a series of denials and refusals by influential Democrats on Capitol Hill that told her she had run out of gas. Some probably talked regretfully (like Rangel), others were pressing her to concede and the rest told her that the way she was going at a V.P. nod was absolutely insane. If she wanted that, Clinton should have met Obama privately. Of course that may have happened and after being denied, she went public...something that made the situation worse. Thankfully she realized tonight that she should stop digging and start helping the nominee. Time will only tell what her conduct will be from now until November, but it will definitely have a bearing on how her political future unfolds.