Clinton cowed by cash?

Slate, putting Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the Democratic nomination at 12 percent, drew up an illustration of the former first lady, who is behind opponent Barack Obama in both the popular vote and pledged-delegate count, on a sinking ship. But a Chicago Sun-Times columnist, citing “a top Dem source,” posits that it’s Clinton’s finances more than anything else that’ll sink her chances. “[W]ord is she may not be able to climb out of the money hole,” a source told Michael Sneed. “I think it’s safe to say Hillary’s not going to dip into her pocket again. And if her employees start taking pay cuts while chasing the dream . . . it’s usually the beginning of the body becoming totally cold.”

Then there’s the John Edwards factor. On the plus side for Hillary, Sneed shares that Edwards is “now leaning toward” endorsing Clinton. But — back to the bucks — CQPolitics reports that in February, former Edwards supporters gave to Barack Obama’s campaign by a 2-to-1 margin. While the donors only pitched in around $200,000, it may suggest a further turning of the tides against Clinton, who, as a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds, now has the highest unfavorability ratings of her entire Senate career.