Sen. Hillary Clinton is trailing Sen. Barack Obama and has almost no shot of getting the Democratic nomination. Some have been calling for her to step down, fearing the collateral damage of a long nomination battle.

But with just three primaries to go, Clinton has her sights set on Puerto Rico as she hopes to post a popular vote victory - depending on how you tally that math, of course - and make her case for the nomination.

Clinton trails Obama in delegates, 1,974-1,780, with 2,026 needed to win. Puerto Rico, which holds its primary Sunday, June 1, has 55 delegates at stake. South Dakota (15 delegates) and Montana (16) vote June 3.

Obama has amassed 16,685,941 (49.1 percent) total votes to Clinton’s 16,227,514 (47.7) - without barred contests in Florida and Michigan.

Adding Florida’s votes cuts his lead from 458,427 to 163,655. Michigan and Florida combined give HRC the edge - though it’s almost impossible to see Michigan counted by the DNC, as Barack Obama wasn’t even on the ballot.

With an expected win in Puerto Rico and losses in South Dakota and Montana, what can Hillary Clinton hope for as the primaries end?

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Donkey Dish strives to whet your appetite for political punditry, be it with our own rants or turning our attention to what’s being written and spoken elsewhere on the issues you care about most. Here are some of today’s top stories …

Obama vs. Clinton

• Bill Clinton alleges that there is a conspiracy against HRC. Really. Barack Obama, meanwhile, is focused on John McCain - and Iraq. Despite what Keith Olbermann believes, HRC was not wishing death upon Obama with her reference to the RFK assassination last week. She was, however, using the following justification for staying in: “stuff happens.”

McCain vs. the Democrats

• As the press begins to more closely examine the real Sen. John McCain, the candidate weighs his Vice Presidential options. Mitt Romney (below) is one of the most talked about. Charlie Crist and Florida are key to any hopes McCain has of winning, especially since Virginia and other states will be competitive.

Iran, Iraq, al Qaeda, etc.

• Iran’s “willful” non-cooperation is becoming a pattern, according to nuclear agency officials. At the same time, the White House responded to the New York Times piece slamming it over the G.I. bill. Meanwhile, the New Yorker examines the rebellion within al Qaeda, and the Wall Street Journal takes a look back at how George W. Bush sold the war.

Energy Crises

• Gas is expensive. Did you catch that? But where’s the price of oil headed long term? The answer may surprise you. Despite what appears to be a glaring need, some are calling a time out on biofuels. Also, airline economics have flown into the perfect storm.

Victories are increasingly empty and lucid arguments for staying in the race are harder to come by. The South Carolina race-bating, fear mongering, even the 3 a.m. phone ad didn’t cut it. Hmmm. Have we tried the conspiracy angle?

According to former President Bill Clinton, what we have here is a simple matter of respect, or more accurately, disrespect. That’s why his wife isn’t the presidential nominee of the Democratic party right now.

Implying sexism, media bias and broad cover-ups, Bill Clinton says he has “never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running,” and “she will win the general election if you nominate her. They’re just trying to make sure you don’t.”

They’re out there, Bubba says! They!

“I can’t believe it. It is just frantic the way they are trying to push and pressure and bully all these superdelegates to come out,” Bill Clinton said during a South Dakota campaign stop on Sunday.

The former chief executive also suggested some were trying to “cover up” Sen. Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning in some of the key states that Democrats will have to win in the November general election.

Here’s how he put it: “‘Oh, this is so terrible: The people they want her. Oh, this is so terrible: She is winning the general election, and he is not. Oh my goodness, we have to cover this up.’”

Bill Clinton did not expound on who he was accusing.

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Friday, Sen. Hillary Clinton defended her decision to stay in the 2008 presidential race despite overwhelming odds in favor of Sen. Barack Obama - and in the process, she evoked the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

The uproar over Clinton’s comments by some members of the party was extreme and unnecessary. What she meant was merely that Kennedy, like her husband Bill Clinton, continued campaigning for the nomination into June.

Here’s what Hillary had to say to the New York Daily News regarding the flap over her remarks about RFK - and her decision to keep running …

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This past Friday, during a meeting with a newspaper editorial board, I was asked about whether I was going to continue in the presidential race.

I made clear that I was - and that I thought the urgency to end the 2008 primary process was unprecedented. I pointed out, as I have before, that my husband’s primary campaign, and Sen. Robert Kennedy’s, had continued into June.

Almost immediately, some took my comments out of context and interpreted them to mean something completely different - and completely unthinkable.

I want to set the record straight: I was making the simple point that given our history, the length of this year’s primary contest is nothing unusual.

Both the executive editor of the newspaper where I made the remarks, and Sen. Kennedy’s son, Bobby Kennedy Jr., put out statements confirming that this was the clear meaning of my remarks.

Bobby stated, “I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.”

I realize that any reference to that traumatic moment for our nation can be deeply painful - particularly for members of the Kennedy family, who have been in my heart and prayers over this past week.

And I expressed regret right away for any pain I caused.

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With the Democratic nomination all but sewn up, Barack Obama’s list of choices for vice president is not short - but one heavyweight’s name is generating the most buzz, by far: Hillary Rodham Clinton. In today’s Face-Off, Donkey Dish debates …

SHOULD HILLARY CLINTON BE BARACK OBAMA’S VICE PRESIDENT?

YES by woodywilson

Imagine if Coke and Pepsi combined to form one ultimate cola.

Would people care if these brands spent years making commercials mocking one another, attempting to convince consumers that each was the better product? Of course not. It’s just the nature of competition.

People would gladly stock their coolers with this super soda and, most important to this metaphor, RC Cola wouldn’t stand a chance.

Indeed, for all the talk about which candidate - Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton - is most electable in the general election against John McCain, the answer is neither. Or both. It’s the Democratic Party.

Never before has one one party had the odds stacked so strongly in its favor. The current Republican in office is the least popular president in history; the man hoping to succeed him has mirrored his words and policies for eight years.

Both Democrats, conversely, represent historic levels of change.

Instead of worrying that the addition of Clinton to his ticket would muddle his message of a new era in politics, Obama should focus on the bigger picture. He can take a page out of the Hillary playbook in order to do that:

The ends justify the means.

An Obama-Clinton dream team might disappoint Barack’s most loyal supporters, those that nod their heads in awe at the fresh perspective he brings to politics, but those backers will vote for him no matter what.

It’s the demographic Hillary Clinton is adept at capturing - lower income white voters and women over 50 - that Obama must win over.

The best way to do that? Solidify the party, openly embrace Clinton and her voters. As long as Hillary lets Barack answer the phone at 3 a.m., the combination of the nation’s two most beloved Democrats will put all electability arguments to rest.

Continue reading this article …

Donkey Dish strives to whet your appetite for political punditry, be it with our own rants or turning our attention to what’s being written and spoken elsewhere on the issues you care about most. Here are some of today’s top stories …

John McCain

• While the Cindy McCain Vogue article and photos generate major buzz, the Arizona Senator himself received a clean bill of health. But don’t expect this positive news is the end of his critics trying to make his age an issue. In an effort to nip another potential Democratic talking point in the bud, McCain publicly repudiated several right-wing pastors.

Hillary Clinton

• While only the New York Senator knows what her endgame actually is, theories abound. As for sexism and media bias hindering her campaign? Some buy that argument, but others say it’s just plain sissy.

Iraq

• Gen David Petraeus says more troop cuts are likely. And, in a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom that may apply to Iraq and other issues, failure is increasingly being viewed as a viable alternative to success.

Ted Kennedy

• While the “Lion of the Senate” is resting at home on Cape Cod after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, he will be replaced as Wesleyan University commencement speaker by a last-minute fill-in: Barack Obama.

Farm Bill Fumble

• The Senate voted 82-13 to override W’s veto of a crucial farm subsidy bill Thursday. A portion of the bill, however, remains in limbo after lawmakers discovered that the version sent to the White House was … missing part of it. Details. Anyone curious what this bill actually does?

A feature and photo essay about Cindy McCain, wife of GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, is featured in Vogue magazine’s June issue.

The 54-year-old beauty - a former rodeo queen and current chair of Hensley & Co. - is known for being demure, meticulously, even a bit uptight.

This photo - Cindy McCain wearing jeans, barefoot, perched in a deck chair on a San Diego patio - seeks to shatter these preconceptions…

In Vogue: Cindy McCain relaxes in the magazine’s June issue.

It’s an interesting contrast to Vogue’s recent photo shoot of the other possible next First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, 44.

The Vogue photos shot by Annie Leibovitz (a.k.a. Miley Cyrus’ enabler) paint a fascinating portrait of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s wife…

In Vogue: Michelle Obama, as photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

Formal, classic, preppy Michelle Obama pictures like this one conjure up images of Jackie Kennedy - not a surprise, as many in the media compare Barack Obama to Jackie’s young, charismatic late husband.

The Cindy McCain photos, meanwhile, seem to be an attempt to downplay her Stepford Wife qualities and show us her accessible, laid-back, outdoorsy side.

Just how successful are the Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama Vogue photos at altering the perceptions you have? Do you view them more favorably?

“I not only love her. I honor the things she has done.” - Bill Clinton

The 42nd President of the United States frequently expresses praise for the person he hopes will be the 44th occupant of White House: his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton. But a recent interview with People was particularly candid.

Earlier this week, Bill Clinton provided his personal perspective on what has been one of the toughest, most memorable campaigns in history…

Q: Is it harder to campaign for Hillary than it was for yourself?
Bill Clinton: No, for me in a way it’s easier – except that it’s harder for me not to talk too long because I get the feeling that if they all knew her like I do, she’d get 80 percent of the vote.

Q: What has the best part been?
Bill Clinton: Chelsea’s emergence has been the second best thing. The most amazing thing is Hillary’s ability to endure in the face of all the blows that have been rained on her: being outspent, dismissed, denigrated, declared dead … When I met her, I found that in her personal relationships she lacked self-confidence and was painfully shy. She is having more fun now than at the beginning. If you look at her, she seems perfectly relaxed, doesn’t she?

Q: How often do you talk to Hillary during the day?
Bill Clinton: Probably three times a day on the phone. I got in the habit of not being an e-mailer when I was President because we had Newt Gingrich, who wanted to subpoena every e-mail ever written in the White House.

Q: You’ve called the campaign press coverage biased against Hillary. Why do you think that is?
Bill Clinton: I think most press people are in [Barack Obama's] demographic. They need a feeling more than they perceive they need a President. There have been times when I thought I was literally lost in a fun house.

Continue reading this article …

With the contentious and historic race for the Democratic presidential nomination all but over, the talk has shifted to the end game.

Sources say Barack Obama’s V.P. search is already underway - even as Hillary Clinton fights on in a race that isn’t technically over.

Insiders are saying that the latest round of calls to supporters from the Clinton inner circle reflect an underlying shift and an admission:

She has no intention of dropping out, but while the Democratic primary battle isn’t over (at least for another week), the war has been lost.

It also raises the question, what are Clinton’s terms of surrender?

Bill Clinton, for his part, has a clear idea - in the former President’s opinion, she has earned nothing short of the first offer to be Obama’s V.P., according to those close to the Clinton camp.

Bill “is pushing real hard for this to happen,” a friend tells Time.

Even if Hillary Clinton is not on the ticket, her huge wins in the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries significantly cut his lead in the popular vote - and significantly boosted her leverage going forward.

Winning 47 percent of the popular vote (more if you count Michigan and Florida) is pretty impressive - and gives her serious bragging rights.

What does that entail logistically for the Barack Obama campaign?

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Now that Hillary Clinton looks to have fallen short in her bid for the Democratic nomination, the debate has turned to why. Which brings us to today’s Face-Off. Comments and opinions are encouraged as the Donkey Dish staff ponders …

HAS SEXISM HURT HILLARY CLINTON IN THE DEMOCRATIC RACE?

YES by frankroosevelt

I personally support Sen. Hillary Clinton, but I totally expect, and even welcome, people to disagree with me and support Sen. Barack Obama.

What I can’t believe is the way in which some people do so.

Hillary Clinton is a political giant - a former First Lady, a U.S. Senator, and the first serious female presidential candidate in the 232-year history of the United States. She’s the ultimate heavyweight.

Yet simply because of her gender, such an accomplished figure is subjected to cheap shots and stereotypes male candidates are able to avoid.

People frequently insult the candidates they do not favor, and HRC’s track record invites its share of reasonable scrutiny. Not bumper stickers such as “Hillary: Stop Running for President and Make Me a Sandwich.”

Sexism is not limited to select misogynistic fools, however. Look no further than your mainstream media outlet of choice.

Clinton, from the start of her White House bid, has been called everything from overbearing and unapproachable to downright mean. That is, when her clothing choices aren’t being picked apart in alarming detail.

She’s acts tough, and she’s called a bitch. She’s ambitious - like every single figure in the history of American politics - and she’s labeled an opportunist. For Hillary alone, these are seen as liabilities, not strengths.

From her tone to her appearance, and from her emotions to her credentials, Hillary Clinton’s treatment in her pursuit of the Democratic nomination has been regularly tinged, if not overtly so, with underlying sexist tones.

Continue reading this article …