A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

Jennifer Rubin notes the significant amount of nervous tension that has followed one bad debate performance on the part of Barack Obama, rightly pointing out that when Obama's eloquence and charisma fail to deliver, he really doesn't have all that much to fall back on. Of course, none of this changes the delegate math or the fact that Hillary Clinton is going to have to draw inside straight after inside straight to have any hope whatsoever of turning things around (and it is an open question as to whether or not all hope is indeed gone for her).

But I suppose that we have yet another explanation as to why Clinton remains in the race. Even now, after fifteen months of campaigning, too many things happen that seem to show that Obama may not be able to take a punch in the general election. The only reason that he is standing up against Clinton is because of the delegate math and the general sense that Clinton herself has run an awful campaign. But things will be different against John McCain, who is significantly more respected and whose campaign will be much sharper than Clinton's ever was. Against McCain, missteps by Obama may actually lead to a serious loss of support. And even the most minute loss of support in what will likely be a close election will be tremendously costly.

We have seen before that Hillary Clinton genuinely believes Barack Obama cannot win the general election. In her own mind at least, events keep proving her right. No wonder she seems bound and determined to take her campaign to the convention.