Scorched Earth to continue

Patrick Leahy, one of the top Democrats in the Senate, called on Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race, noting that her campaign is hurting Democratic prospects for the fall:

"Senator Clinton has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to. As far as the delegate count and the interests of a Democratic victory in November go, there is not a very good reason for drawing this out. But as I have said before, that is a decision that only she can make," Leahy said in the statement.

Today, Clinton cited this poll when discussing why she's staying in.

Twenty-two percent (22%) of Democratic voters nationwide say that Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination. However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that an identical number--22%--say that Barack Obama should drop out.

Rasmussen's results are not surprising. The media has been portraying the Democratic contest as a neck-and-neck horse race and not mentioning the fact that, mathematically, Clinton can't win. It's understandable that voters would see no reason for a candidate who supposedly has an equal shot at the nomination to drop out.

Politico summed it up well last week;

In other words: The notion of the Democratic contest being a dramatic cliffhanger is a game of make-believe.

The real question is why so many people are playing. The answer has more to do with media psychology than with practical politics.

Journalists have become partners with the Clinton campaign in pretending that the contest is closer than it really is. Most coverage breathlessly portrays the race as a down-to-the-wire sprint between two well-matched candidates, one only slightly better situated than the other to win in August at the national convention in Denver.