The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

Every Time She Says Goodbye

Emily and Melinda: I thought the ruddy and spaced-out Bill looked like his heart was under strain last night for a different reason: because he was witnessing the first chapter of his wife's valedictory speech. The whole proceedings seemed logy, so fence-mending, so puzzlingly bile-free ... and then I realized, this was her way of saying goodbye. Granted, it'll be a long, Clinton-style leave-taking, with lots of popping back through the front door for wallet and keys and an extra hug and hey, just for old times' sake, can we talk one more time about seating those mathematically meaningless Florida and Michigan delegates? But really, isn't she just marking time so she can win Kentucky and West Virginia, let Obama reach an uncontestable majority of superdelegates, and leave the race on a less ignominious note (all the while, as Trailhead suggested last night, hoping against hope for a late-breaking video on YouTube to expose her opponent as a Boy Scout-molesting flag-burner)?