Rocky who? Democratic presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton campaigns at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on April 1, 2008. (Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)

Every time someone suggests she should just up and quit, Hillary Clinton digs in her heels a little deeper. This week, she virtually donned the gloves of a battered prizefighter and compared herself to Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa.

"Could you imagine" she said, "if Rocky Balboa had gotten half way up those Art Museum stairs and said, 'Well I guess that's about far enough?' That's not the way it works. Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up."

Overlook if you can the conflicting imagery of the battered Rocky Balboa and the coolly-coiffed Hillary Clinton. It is probably fair to forgive a little movie iconography in this instance. After all, those famous Art Museum stairs are in Philadelphia, Pa., the next big state prize in the Democratic presidential race.

And while Clinton may be leading in the Pennsylvania polls, just like Rocky, she is the underdog in the bigger contest. A chorus of political pundits and nervous Democrats has already counted her down and out. The assumption is that she can't win, that her opponent, Barack Obama, has too big a lead in committed delegates and that it is time to end the race for the good of the party.

"Enough is enough," said Senator Chris Dodd, an early contender himself and now an Obama supporter, "we want this to be over with."

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, another prominent Obama supporter, put it this way: Clinton "has every right, but not a very good reason" to stay in the race.

American pundits have been pointing out for a while now that the math just does not add up for Clinton. It looks impossible for her to overtake Obama in the number of pledged delegates though she could come close in the popular vote.

In fact, Michael Barone of U.S. News and World Report even paints a scenario where Clinton could overtake Obama in popular vote, but by a mere three tenths of a percentage point.

All these calculations, of course, exclude the so-called super delegates — the 800-plus elected representatives and party officials — who, it is now generally accepted, will determine the final outcome at the Democratic convention in August, assuming Hillary doesn't concede first.

McCain fodder

But put the numbers aside for a moment. The overriding concern among those who want Clinton to step aside now seems to be that the nastiness of the fight will hurt Democratic prospects in the general election in November.

Every time one of the two contenders takes a swipe at the other, it unearths rich political fodder for John McCain and the Republicans in the ultimate fight for the White House.

What's more, the intense rivalry has led to increasing numbers of devoted Clinton and Obama supporters suggesting they would rather switch than vote Democratic if their candidate is not the nominee.

Add that to the fact that opinion polls show Clinton and Obama in a virtual dead heat (within the margin of error) with McCain and that is all good news for the Republicans.

Many senior party members also argue that American voters are simply tired of all the bickering and infighting among Democrats who ultimately will have to play on the same team. Better they should just get on to fighting Republicans.

However, in spite of the Quit Now chorus, there is a case to be made on the other side.

It is certainly arguable that prolonging the race will somehow hurt the party. Historically, other Democratic contests have gone on just as long. As Clinton likes to point out, her husband didn't clinch the nomination until June. And Bill Clinton went on to be a two-term president.

A better debate

Adding its voice, the Washington Post argued in a recent editorial that Clinton should carry on because the "polite debate could produce a stronger Democratic candidate for the fall and a better-informed electorate."

Both Clinton and Obama are strong candidates and convincing debaters. But Clinton is much more of a known quantity and therefore a good measuring stick. Many pundits now take the view that the flap over the remarks of Obama's outspoken pastor, Jeremiah Wright — and Obama's subsequent and much lauded speech on race in America — was a much needed test of his mettle.

As for a more informed electorate? Well, in the midst of panic about the economy and Wall Street bailouts, Americans were apparently paying closer attention to the Democratic presidential race. A recent survey showed that 32 per cent of Americans were closely following the unfolding political story, 24 per cent the economy.

Of course that doesn't mean voters are necessarily better informed about the big issues of the day. But they are certainly tuned in.

What campaign fatigue?

"At what point does campaign fatigue set in?" asks Carroll Doherty of the Pew Research Centre, which conducted the survey, "There's no evidence of that yet. For several months this has been a highly engaged electorate."

In fact, in contest after contest, Democrats have seen record turnouts in state primaries and caucuses. And it looks like that will happen in Pennsylvania, too. More than 230,000 new voters have registered to vote in the Democratic primary there on April 22nd. No fatigue there.

Pennsylvania is one of 10 primaries and caucuses that are still to come. Millions of voters have yet to cast a ballot. None of those votes will provide the knockout, but in this bastion of democracy it seems only fair to let their numbers be counted.

So, it is perhaps not surprising that, at least in public, even Obama says Clinton should stay in the race as long as she wants. "I think she deserves to be able to run and make her case," he said recently.

Maybe he is simply being magnanimous. After all, Rocky Balboa didn't win that first big fight and didn't expect to. He was a hero because he stayed in the ring and kept on punching.

Hillary Clinton says she is in this fight to the finish. What has she got to lose?

Letters

What's this about Hillary being the "underdog"? That's not how this contest began. I suppose the moment Rocky knocked down Apollo Creed in the first round, Creed became the underdog?

Please. Even favourites sometimes lose, and this is a popularity contest, the most capricious kind. The losing slide of an initial favourite does not transform them into an "underdog" no matter what the media might like for dramatic purposes.

I'm guessing your favourite film of the series was Rocky IV, am I right? The steroid-pumped Soviet fighting machine was such an underdog (in his final moments). If anyone has demonstrated the ability to win without being a bully, it is Obama. Give the real Rocky his due.

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– Randal Kowalchuk | Ottawa

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