Friday was not kind to Hillary Clinton. Based on Deathwatch’s top-secret morbidity formula, Hillary tanked on four metrics today, reducing her chances of winning the nomination by 1.7 points to 10.3 percent.
The nastiest news for Clinton is in the polls. She has drifted eight points behind Obama in a national Gallup survey—the first time that she has trailed Obama by a statistically significant margin since the Rev. Wright imbroglio. Every point she loses in the national polls pushes her a bit closer to Davy Jones’ locker.
In Pennsylvania, she suffered a setback in her efforts to win endorsements and superdelegates when Sen. Bob Casey endorsed Obama even though he said he was staying neutral in the race. Casey comes from a long political lineage that is well-known in the eastern part of the state and among Catholic Pennsylvanians. Rubbing salt in the wound, Obama said he didn’t even court Casey’s support—he entered the House of Obama on his own volition.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patrick Leahy—an Obama supporter— called for Clinton’s withdrawal yesterday but then removed his foot from his mouth and backed off the assertion today, saying it’s a decision “that only she can make.” Even though he dialed back his original statement, it adds another high-profile voice to the growing din that Clinton is doing more harm than good by sticking around. Chris Dodd—another Obama devotee—has made similar comments.
Two statements from two head honchos are also draining Clinton’s momentum. Both Howard Dean and Al Gore said they expected the nomination to be decided before the convention. Pressure from the top will likely push superdelegates to side with Obama or Clinton before August. Hillary’s political clock is ticking.
For a primer on Hillary’s sinking ship, visit our first Deathwatch entry.
