For the sake of the Democratic party, Hillary must quit. The party is more important than any individual. If the Democrats don’t win the White House this year, they probably never will. They may as well change their name to Opposition Party but keep the same mascot.
If Hillary wins the nomination (not very likely) and loses to McCain (the current polls indicate this) or loses the nomination but wounds Obama and the Democratic party so much that the Republicans prevail, she will be a pariah in her own party. Whether it is the first African-American president or the first female-president, history will be made, and it doesn’t matter which one comes first. Hillary is relatively young and ambitious. If Obama wins, she can try again in 8 years — 4 if McCain wins, though it is tough to beat an incumbent.
Bob Herbert’s op-ed column on New York Times, titled Road Map to Defeat is quite apropos.