A race, at least in the notional sense, is a competition of speed.  There’s usually a finish line somewhere, and the principle objective for everyone involved is to try and reach that point ahead of all other runners.  Get to the end of the line, get the gold, get the Gatorade endorsement, get the girl/groupie, and so on.

For a while, the Democratic Primaries were fundamentally following the essentials of this race metaphor. Hill and Barry were stumping from state to state, racking up votes and delegates, campaigning in an exciting realm of infinite possibility.  Back then, Hillary was running under inevitability, but after suffering twelve consecutive defeats, she lost it.  Then, on Super Tuesday, among not-so-hushed whispers confidently forecasting her demise, Hillary whipped out a butterfly knife and fought back.  Obama had grown pudgy on good press and 55 million dollars, and when Hillary got down n’ dirty, he wasn’t prepared.  So she spanked him, causing a huge upset with a modest win in the Texas primary and a not-so-modest victory in Ohio.  Jaws dropped, hats flew off heads, and I’m going to guess a shrill cheer rose up among her claque of winged monkeys over at Hillaryis44.org. Anyway, she claimed momentum—since momentum, like a big penis, is something you can claim to have without other people testifying to it—and the media obviously snatched up the story and started in with horse-race metaphors.

Since Super Tuesday, Hillary has once again begun running under inevitability.  But this time, it’s the wrong kind of inevitability.  After being coddled for the better half of March by press coverage that treated her as a viable contender, it’s finally registered within the MSM that the odds against her are staggeringly high. With a roughly 20 percent chance of actually winning the nomination, even Joe Scarborough is beginning to wonder if she will drop out of the race.

But there's nothing to drop out of, because this isn't a race.  It’s a war of attrition.  This contest is no longer about moving forward, or competing abilities, or issues.  Its priorities have ceased to be on amassing delegates, and even the popular vote is fast becoming irrelevant. Now, Hillary has dug her trenches, and is gearing up to relentlessly pound Obama with attacks until he crumbles and surrenders.  She’ll blacken the landscape, choke the sky, and gas Obama’s character beyond all recognition before she concedes an inch.  Whether it's an acceptable plan is a matter of debate, but I think it's a malicious, vindictive, and generally ugly way to campaign. It reminds me of the same winning strategy that made World War I such a resounding triumph for all nations involved.

As much as I love him, I can't say I'm not beginning to worry about Obama.