Yesterday, I wrote that Hillary Is Really Working the Refs to Ignore the Obvious -- that is that her real goal in targeting the media was not simply to get good press for herself or bad press for Obama but rather to chide them into ignoring the mathematical impossibility of Hillary winning a majority of pledged delegates in the remaining primaries and caucuses.  If the press are even slightly cowed by Camp Hillary, then they certainly are not going to suggest it's time for her to acknowledge reality and bow out of the race.

Today, the day after Texas and Ohio voted, the next phase has become apparent:  Send in the Clowns, as in "ignore the trapese artist who just fell from the tight-rope and look at those clowns running around." 

And who are these "clowns" that would distract us from acknowledging the painful truth that the once high-flying front-runner for the Democratic nomination is no longer viable?

Well, today Evan Bayh, a Hillary supporter, suggested that earlier primaries were merely "job interviews" and the decision on who to hire remains to be seen.  He must have missed this piece on Hillary's Math Problem.

Nancy Pelosi,  supposedly neutral in the Democratic race, took her turn running around with oversized shoes and a big red nose by urging super delegates to hold off on making their decisions, just as the party insiders begin to grow nervous at the negative campaigning and clamor for a resolution to the race before the Deomocratic convention.  Despite the obvious pledged delegate math at this point, Pelosi was "never among those who believed this would be resolved by now" (even though it virtually already is). 

Finally today, at least as has been reported here at TPMElection Central, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Hillary supporter, joined hands with Florida's Republican Governor to demand that Michigan's and Florida's delegates be seated at the convention as is (no re-vote), even though Obama wasn't even on the Michigan ballot.  Again, another attempt to distract from the reality that it is already too late for Hillary, hoping they can just keep nudging it her way, as if wishing it can make it happen.

Even at its most powerful, this concerted distraction strategy is temporary and only so effective.  Eventually people tire of the clowns and look back to the center ring to see what's happening there. Eventually the press gets back to actually counting delegates.  Eventually the spin no longer matters and Hillary just comes up short.