It looks like Ohio's governor Ted Strickland has taken himself decisively out of the running for Obama's VP.  He has given an unequivocal 'Sherman statement' to NPR's All Things Considered.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/10/top-obama-vp-candidate-takes-himself-out-of-the-running/

Well, essentially, anyway.  See below! :-)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4076339.ece

As the Economist and Time go, so goes the nation. 

With Barack Obama the all-but-coronated Democratic nominee, I've read quite a few posts from longtime Hillary Clinton supporters who have honorably accepted their candidate's loss while at the same time encouraging her to continue campaigning on through the remaining primary states.  The argument (from Clinton supporters as well as the campaign itself) seems to be that these few remaining states deserve to have their voices heard and their votes counted.  The Obama supporters, for the most part, accept this proposition provided that Clinton can take the high road and train her fire on John McCain, rather than murmur any further about "hard-working whites" and the ephemeral, never-to-be-nailed-down blue collar vote.  If this condition is met, so the argument goes, it could all be to the good that Clinton and Obama carry a bit of friendly, public tete-a-tete into Appalachia, the Upper Midwest, and the Pacific Coast.

Not much argument from me, at least not on that score.  However, I do have to wonder what these people mean when they say that the voices of the voters in the remaining states must be heard, or counted, or heeded, or whatever the verb of concern happens to be at that moment.  If Hillary were to suspend her campaign tomorrow, what difference would it make?  West Virginians would still tromp to the polls.  Oregonians would make their way to their respective high school gyms and old folks' clubs.  No votes would be missed or unheeded or muted. 

I assume what is meant in these expressions of concern is that the voters in these states deserve face time with the candidates (or at least face time with Hillary Clinton), or, alternatively, to have their specific issues addressed (deforestation in Oregon, the steady collapse of the mining industry in West Virginia, statehood for Puerto Rico).  I'm most sympathetic to the latter concern, but on the former, I confess utter confusion.  Since when do individual states "deserve" or "have a right to" town halls, rallies, and chance diner encounters with presidential candidates?  This is the first presidential nominating contest that I've been cognizant of in which so many states have received so much individual attention from the campaigns and the candidates themselves. 
My thought (concern is too strong a word) is that, at this point, anything other than a joint Obama-Clinton 'unity' swing through these final contests will dissolve into a non-stop pander-fest.  West Virginians want those mining jobs back?  Hillary will bring them to you!  Oregonians want more restrictions on the logging concerns?  Obama will appoint a 'logging czar' to coordinate with the EPA!  Since we all know who the nominee is going to be, isn't it best to shift directly into general election mode and start talking about the big issues that are of broad concern to all Americans?  The issues that we as Democrats can surely win on?  The faltering economy; the loss of jobs; the lapse of the innovative, hopeful spirit in the American character; the hopeless occupation of Iraq?  We can win on these issues. 

If the candidates must carry on into these last few primaries with the same attention and intensity they've given the other contests, I say make it a joint venture.  If Hillary truly is stronger in some of these areas (the Rust Belt, for example), then she ought to use that strength to help Democrats win in November by introducing Barack Obama to the Americans in those regions as the new presidential nominee.  Not only could she help our chances in the general, but she would go a long way toward repairing her own image in the process.  Otherwise, she's only using her own relative popularity to bolster her own ego under the guise of "their voices being heard". 

If that's all it is, I'm willing to trade a little silence for Hillary's gently going into that good night.