Your world... to the Max: Over the Hill

Weekly column by the World News Editor

Three’s company, everyone knows that. Whether it’s a date you have tomorrow night or a presidential election, there is only room for two. Fifteen months after the presidential campaigns officially kicked off, that’s what we have.

This means that one has to go; in fact the next season of “Survivor” will be titled “The West Wing.”

Unfortunately, the person that will need to be voted off the island next is Hillary Clinton. It is time for the two “tribes” to unite behind their leaders and see who will be the last person standing – I think that’s the last TV reference since I’ve never actually seen the show “Survivor.”

Sen. Clinton has fought a tough campaign, and although about a year ago it looked like she would have the Democratic nomination locked up by now, the math has changed and Sen. Barack Obama is the Democratic front-runner.

While it will be exciting to see how the convention plays out, there would have to be more pledged delegates up for grabs for her to logically be able to continue.

Clinton did just win Pennsylvania, which played into her basic argument – she is the only Democrat who can win the big states and therefore the only Democratic candidate who can beat the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, in November.

That argument does not carry much merit. While Clinton has won most of the bigger states, Obama has won the most votes, states and delegates. People who voted for Clinton in the big states are not going to stay home on Election Day if she is not the nominee. They are going to go out and, for the most part, vote for Obama. It is important to look at the total number of votes cast for the Democratic Party versus the total number votes cast for the Republican Party, not total votes for a single candidate.

It will be easier for Clinton supporters to vote for Obama than it would be the other way around. He hasn’t been nearly as aggressive towards her as she has towards him, and I think the sharpness of her attacks will only add to her overall unfavorable ratings, which are high nationally.

Also, as time goes on, it looks harder and harder for her to overcome Obama in pledged delegates, and warnings have been issued from party leaders that there would be serious repercussions from within the party if the super delegates took the nomination away from whomever the people had selected.

It is unlikely that she will drop out before the convention. She’s a Clinton, and she’ll fight to the bitter end. Jon Stewart recently asked Obama if he did win the election would he expect to see Clinton at his inauguration still campaigning. I’m not sure if he was joking or not, but it’s time for her to drop out and let the Democratic Party unite behind Obama the way that the Republican Party has been able to unite behind McCain.

The summer is a crucial time to campaign and Obama has won the most votes, so he deserves the summer to campaign solely against McCain, not both. It is time for her to pack up and head back to her Senate job.