Obama's Claim to Transracial Postpartisanship is Dead

Hillary Clinton is out campaigning today, and as she hits the hustings her best case for continuing is to convince the superdelegates that Barack Obama's unelectable in the general election.

The Wall Street Jounal touches on Obama's liabilities:

With his victory in North Carolina on Tuesday, Barack Obama took a giant step toward the Democratic presidential nomination. The irony is that he is doing this just when Hillary Clinton has finally exposed his potential weaknesses as a general election candidate.

The Illinois Senator can certainly breathe easier having dodged a loss in North Carolina, where he once held a big lead. As usual, he swept the under-30 crowd as well as the educated, upscale liberals in the central part of the Tar Heel State ....

But his victory in North Carolina depended heavily on his overwhelming (91%) share of the black vote, which made up about a third of the primary electorate. Mrs. Clinton won 61% of white Democrats in North Carolina, according to the exit polls, and 65% of white Democrats in Indiana. Mrs. Clinton also broke even among independents. Clearly Mr. Obama's early promise of a transracial, postpartisan coalition has dimmed as the campaign has progressed and voters have learned more about him.

The controversy over his 20-year association with his pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, seems to have hurt in particular. About half of North Carolina Democrats said the Wright issue mattered to them, and they voted decisively for Senator Clinton. The former First Lady won easily among late deciders, which also suggests that Mr. Obama's rocky recent performance has cost him. And the Chicagoan continued his poor showing with rural voters, especially in white Democratic counties in Indiana. These are the voters John McCain will have a chance to get in November.

These are also the data points the Clinton campaign will now press with the superdelegates who will ultimately decide this contest. But the bitter political fact for the New York Senator is that her late-game rally may not matter. To nominate Mrs. Clinton now, party insiders would have to deny the nomination to the first African-American with a serious chance to be President, risking a revolt among their most loyal voting bloc.

Yeah, risking a revolt, literally, in the streets of Denver where Obama's radical supporters are planning to "Recreate '68."

Frankly, it's hard to imagine Hillary prevailing in her call to generate decisive superdelegate backing. But some outside the campaign are making the case for her to continue.

Ed Koch has suggested that "Obama's a sure loser, Clinton should fight on."

Obama's the weaker general election candidate, but I dread an Obama administration even more that the second coming of the Clintons!