Hillary Clinton has shown more gumption, resiliency and tenacity than most of us expected - but is enough enough? That’s the subject of today’s Face-Off. Comments and opinions are encouraged as the Donkey Dish staff debates …

SHOULD HILLARY CLINTON STAY IN THE DEMOCRATIC RACE?

YES by harrytruman

All signs point to Barack Obama winning the Democratic nomination. No longer a question of if, it’s just a matter of when. Yet there are many reasons Hillary Rodham Clinton should - and likely will - stay in the race.

First, seeing this historic race to its end will give Democrats in more than 50 elections the chance to vote in meaningful primaries and caucuses.

Turnout levels across the U.S. are soaring - a boon for Democrats and a trend that should continue into November. As long as she keeps her campaign positive (a direction she has, albeit slowly, been heading), a protracted race does not necessarily hurt Obama. On the contrary, it makes him stronger.

The attacks have been heavy-handed, but ensure Obama will be ready for when the Republicans subject him to far worse. By fighting to the end, Hillary Clinton is forcing Obama to pass a vital, early test of political strength.

Finally, this isn’t like Mike Huckabee refusing to drop out.

While it may be game over in the eyes of the pundits, almost half of those voting in Democratic primaries chose Hillary, and she’s still winning states. If superdelegates want this over, they can make it so right now. They haven’t. Clinton is a giant who should set her own agenda, even regarding her own concession.

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We love political cartoons, and Bill Mitchell, a former newspaper cartoonist who’s abandoned print media for the online world (gotta love animated GIFs), is one of our favorites. Check out his great work if you haven’t before.

Earlier, we posted a political cartoon dealing with the staggering cost ($5k/second) of the Iraq war and the farce of the U.S. economic stimulus plan.

Now here’s one about the proposed gas tax holiday, which some presidential hopefuls support. Note that Barack Obama is conspicuously absent below.

Shameless pandering, anyone? Fill ‘er up!

Cartoon source: here. More Mitchell here.

Is it game over? It certainly feels a little more like it watching Sen. Barack Obama address a crowd in Raleigh, N.C., on May 6, the night of the crucial Democratic primaries held in both Indiana and North Carolina.

Here’s Obama’s address to the Raleigh crowd …

Obama won North Carolina comfortably. Hundreds of miles away, vowing to soldier on, Sen. Hillary Clinton addressed supporters after an apparent victory in Indiana. She withstood a late surge to win the Hoosier State.

Both Democratic candidates stuck to their campaigns’ central themes - experience vs. change - and made some subtle overtures to the other, while also looking ahead to future primaries and to beating John McCain.

Follow the jump for both parts of Hillary’s speech …

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Heading into Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton had to win big in Indiana and do better than expected in North Carolina, keeping that key race close.

Didn’t happen.

In the North Carolina primary, Obama won convincingly, recording an easy 14-percent win and a popular vote margin of more than 200,000.

Meanwhile, Clinton squeaked through in Indiana with one of the narrowest wins of the almost 50 held this year, defeating Obama 51-49 percent.

Hillary Clinton’s chances of defeating Barack Obama dwindled last night.

Based on the margins of victory in North Carolina and Indiana, Obama added to his leads in popular votes and pledged delegates. Including superdelegate estimates, he is currently just 184.5 shy of the 2,025 needed to win the nomination.

Looking ahead, there are some bright spots for the resilient Clinton campaign - but they may not be enough to overcome her remaining deficit.

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Another week, another day of primaries in the Democratic presidential race. As expected, each of the co-frontrunners had something to celebrate on this critical election day, pocketing a victory a piece May 6.

Below are some photos of last night’s rallies held by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - and their spouses - in Indiana and North Carolina.

Click to enlarge any of the shots of the Clintons and Barack and Michelle Obama photos, and follow the jump for many more May 6 pictures …

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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was interviewed Monday on CNBC’s Morning Joe, from Greenville, N.C., about the current Gas Tax “war” Between herself and Barack Obama, as well as other issues dominating the 2008 presidential race.

Mika Brzezinsky then questioned Hillary Clinton about the tax and Tiki Barber later jumped in to discuss the “Comeback Kid” and the confidence level question as she prepares for the Indiana and North Carolina primaries…

A few days after Barack Obama presented the Top 10 Surprising Facts About Barack Obama, his rival, Hilary Clinton, appeared on the Late Show and delivered the Top 10 Reasons Hilary Clinton Loves America.

Seriously, Tivo? Not one but two Dakotas? Teddy Roosevelt? 232 years and never a cookie shortage? Is this a great country or what!

A funny HRC mocked David Letterman (”Apparently, anyone can get a talk show”) as well as herself, making the obligatory pantsuit joke on his behalf.

The scene is Gary, Indiana, and the tiled walls of Theodore Roosevelt High School’s gym, along with its “Panthers” banners, are looking a bit worn.

Shabbiness is no surprise in this Rust Belt steel-making region that has been hit hard by economic stagnation for decades, USA Today notes.

But the capacity crowds turning out in Gary and vicinity for Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are signs of renewed political vitality.

The contentious, marathon Democratic nominating contest is now focused on North Carolina and Indiana, which hold their primaries May 6.

To win the Indiana primary, carrying the state’s northwestern region — the five counties nearest Chicago — is critical for both candidates.

The key to that? Convincing voters that you offer the best plan to survive in a manufacturing economy that has been gutted in recent decades - and in many voters’ views, thanks to foreign trade agreements.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton square off in the Hoosier State.

Given its proximity to Chicago, the region looks as if it would favor Barack Obama — but there are myriad obstacles in the way of both.

A large proportion of black and Latino voters and a heavy union presence present unique challenges for this dynamic Democratic duo.

As a result, the Hoosier State could truly be up for grabs in the first Democratic primary that has mattered there in 24 years.

Seven state polls since February show Hillary Clinton leading in four and Obama in three. Obama leads 50-45 percent in the most recent, released April 11 by Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Continue reading this USA Today article here …

If Pennsylvania has given Hillary Clinton anything, it’s ammo.

She won’t go away, and will continue press her claim that she merits the support of the remaining superdelegates - and is even leading in one key category.

Sen. Clinton apparently netted around 200,000 overall votes and about a dozen delegates in this Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary - enough to narrow her gap with Sen. Barack Obama, but not nearly enough to close it.

However, those 200,000 net votes from Tuesday gave Clinton a narrow edge when it comes to the popular vote - from a certain point of view.

“I’m very proud that as of today, I have received more votes by the people who have voted than anyone else,” Clinton said Wednesday.

Barack Obama’s campaign begs to differ.

Clinton’s claim assumes Michigan and Florida votes cast for her count - but the Democratic candidates agreed not to campaign in those states because they violated party rules by scheduling their contests too early.

Barack Obama didn’t even have his name on the Michigan ballot, so he received no votes from that contest. Clinton won with 55 percent over “Uncommitted.”

“We think that, in the end, if we end up having won twice as many states and having the most votes, then we should be the nominee,” Obama said.

Does Hillary Clinton’s popular vote argument hold water?

If Michigan and Florida votes are counted, Clinton is ahead by just about 100,000 (15.1 million to 15 million). Without them, Obama has a 500,000-vote lead. If Florida counted and not Michigan, Obama leads by 200,000.

Clinton says she has now received more votes than any Democrat in history - another dubious claim, as voter turnout continues to soar in large part because of the historic longevity and closeness of a race she refuses to bow out of - delaying the inevitable in the eyes of many Democrats.

Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, said he doesn’t expect Obama to lose his lead by June 3, when the Democratic contests - and their increasingly negative, self-destructive tone - mercifully end.

Here are the states and dates of the primaries still to come …

• Guam (May 3)
• North Carolina, Indiana (May 6)
• West Virginia (May 13)
• Oregon, Kentucky (May 20)
• Puerto Rico (June 1)
• South Dakota, Montana (June 3)

With an almost insurmountable pledged delegate lead, Obama is in the home stretch - but facing questions about why he can’t just end this thing.

“You know the way we’re going to close the deal is by winning. And right now we’re winning. And what we’ll do is keep on campaigning in Indiana and North Carolina and Oregon and these other states,” he said. “And at the conclusion of all these contests, people will go back and take a look and say, ‘Who’s won?’”

Boy. How badly does the New York Times want to retract its Hillary Clinton endorsement from earlier this year? Why won’t it just say so overtly?

Maybe it doesn’t have to. Its scathing editorial from yesterday, “The Low Road to Victory,” which criticizes the New York Senator’s negative tactics in the Pennsylvania campaign, leaves no other conclusion.

While the New York Times‘ own credibility is suspect at this point, you have to wonder about the toll this protracted, increasingly bitter campaign is taking.

It’s nearing the point where the damage may be impossible to undo.

Here’s the piece from Wednesday’s paper, which also criticizes Barack Obama for falling victim to the negative tone set by Clinton, but compares the former First Lady to George W. Bush and Karl Rove (seriously) …

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The Pennsylvania primary, which produced yet another inconclusive result Tuesday night, was even meaner, vacuous, desperate, and filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.

Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.

If nothing else, self interest should push her in that direction.

Mrs. Clinton did not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the Democratic race.

It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1.

But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead.

On the eve of this crucial primary, Mrs. Clinton became the first Democratic candidate to wave the bloody shirt of 9/11.

A Clinton television ad — torn right from Karl Rove’s playbook — evoked the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war and the 9/11 attacks, complete with video of Osama bin Laden.

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” the narrator intoned.

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