It’s not a matter of hard work and luck for Hillary Clinton anymore. It’s merely a matter of time, numbers, and perspective.

Numbers, because there is mathematically no way for her to win the nomination barring some massive (i.e., bigger than “bitter”) Obama scandal that sends hordes of superdelegates scrambling back her way. Time, because while the decision to suspend her presidential campaign is ultimately up to her, the longer she waits, the longer she personally lets John McCain off the hook and keeps the Democratic Party from uniting and taking him to the electoral toolshed. Perspective, because we could all use some at this point, given the way the race has been covered by the traditional media.

Perhaps it’s the color of their glasses: the slightest hint of green. In the age of corporate media, it is in the best interest of the corporations who bring the news to the television-watching masses to keep this primary season alive as long as possible. The longer this goes on, the more media markets see record-breaking spending on advertising, which means great profits for those corporate media entities, which in turn makes them better able to push the theme that there is still a fight for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Continued: Click “Read more”Ahead of Pennsylvania’s primary, let us not mince words about what Hillary Clinton is: a strong, savvy, educated woman who has without a doubt been “through the wringer of Washington politics,” as her campaign loves to put it. Let us also be clear about what she is NOT: evil. A socialist. A Republican in disguise.

Unfortunately, another thing soon to be added to the list of what she is not is a Democratic presidential nominee. There is mathematically no way for Clinton to win this nomination, plain and simple. She could become the nominee, but it would not be a win: it would involve either a coup-by-superdelegates (which seems increasingly unlikely given DNC Chair Howard Dean’s push for superdelegates to endorse sooner rather than later) or a strategic stuffing of the DNC Credentials Committee that would seat Michigan’s and Florida’s illegitimate delegates. Either of these scenarios would tear the Democratic Party apart, and would at best be a pyrrhic victory for Sen. Clinton, leading to far worse than simply a defeat in November: another four years of Republican occupation of the White House.

So as we look forward to Pennsylvania’s primary on Tuesday, let us keep in mind what the traditional media would rather we forget: that regardless of asinine questions (45 minutes worth!) and a poor performance from Obama in this week’s ABC debate, the numbers do not lie. Anything but an all-out killing for Clinton in Pennsylvania will not allow her to close the delegate gap in any significant way, and several of the states remaining on the primary schedule — Montana, South Dakota, North Carolina — favor Obama. Time, numbers, and perspective are on the side of the skinny kid with a funny name.

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