The dictum, "first, do no harm" is typically applied to physicians, but I think works here. At this point, when Senator Obama has the nomination all but locked up, it's what the Democratic party leadership must insist on from Sen. Clinton if she's going to stay in the race.

Lately, Mrs. Clinton has attempted to make the only case she feels she has left, flimsy though it is, that 'hard working white people' (an unfortunate statement on a couple levels) won't support Sen. Obama in the general election. I'm not sure if that means the people of Nebraska, Utah, Minnesota, North Dakota, and other Obama states that are almost exclusively white have been dismissed, if they're seen by the Clinton campaign as a bunch of slackers, or if the inference is that only white people work hard. There's really no good way to interpret it. Personally, as a 'hard working white person', I'm a little insulted by her statement, just as I'm insulted by her insistence that, as a woman, she can claim my vote, and that those of us who are fortunate enough to have worked our way to a college degree are elitist and outside the mainstream, or that those who are either not so fortunate or have chosen another course are a huge monolithic voting block. I understand that it's a futile last-ditch effort to resurrect her dying campaign, and I have some compassion for her in that regard. She's a fighter. A dirty fighter at times, but still, there's something in her tenacity to be admired.

The problem with her latest strategy, aside from the fact that her claims are completely baseless, is that goes against the 'do no harm' rule. The divisive rhetoric, the dog whistles, the pandering and the threats are all just the death rattle, but the real harm is that she's hell-bent on taking the party down with her. Despite Sen. Obama's attempts to allow her a graceful exit, Sen. Clinton has insisted on dragging this thing out to the bitter end, irrespective of the damage to anyone who might stand in her way. including the presumptive nominee and the standard bearer of the Democratic party.

As Senator Kerry points out, the claims Senator Clinton is making aren't really true. Senator Kerry won the female vote in 2004, as well as the Hispanic vote. Facts matter. Could we have done better? Certainly, we could have, but I don't recall a whole lot of Hillary out there in '04, urging her 'base' to vote for our candidate. If she's going to claim she speaks for them, maybe she should have spoke up then and helped save us from the last four years of Bush. In these waning days of the primary, she can do that now if she chooses, and exit the race having helped the Democratic party to a big win in November. It doesn't appear that's her plan.

If Senator Clinton needs more time to come to grips with the facts, then there's no reason she shouldn't continue to campaign. She doesn't have to help the Dems to a win, although I think it would help restore her and Bill's damaged legacy. She can continue to make her case. But it's time to insist that she first do no harm.