Your Ver-Tex-Io Island Primary Preview

Momentum is a curious thing, especially in this election. In Iowa, Sen. Barack Obama soundly trounced Sen. Hillary Clinton, only to have her turn around and unexpectedly beat him in New Hampshire. As soon as either candidate embraces his or her frontrunner status, it gets yanked away.

During this endless primary season, we’re loathe to believe that it may be the beginning of the end. But Obama’s won 11 straight primaries, and Clinton is drinking beer out of a Solo cup and acting like a woman who doesn’t give a damn anymore. Or, she is just getting started. Depends on whom you ask.

Today’s Globe started sounding the death knell for the Clinton campaign.

At the start of her campaign, Clinton often used the phrase “when I am president” to describe what her administration would be like. But Clinton has abandoned “when” for “if” as she asks for support.

But the New York Times says she’s acting like a winner.

Mrs. Clinton was in happy-warrior mode — and seemed to have found a stride. Her attack lines were punchier, her audiences were reacting more enthusiastically than usual, and she clearly liked her latest line of attack against Senator Barack Obama, on his lack of experience with a crisis.

We don’t mean any disrespect, but what does she have to lose? Either she loses the Ver-Tex-Io Island Primaries with a whimper, or she goes down cracking jokes and kicking ass. We don’t think she’s acting like she has momentum—she’s hoping that if she shows some humanity that will put her over the top with voters.

It’s unclear if her strategy is working. The latest polls have Clinton leading Obama in Ohio, while Texas is still too close to call. It’s a statistical dead heat in Rhode Island, but Obama has a huge lead in Vermont.

It may be that our primary purgatory won’t end if the candidates split the delegates fairly evenly, though some Obama supporters want Clinton to drop out if she doesn’t score a convincing victory tomorrow. We’re sure she’ll take that advice from her opponent under advisement.

We’d make our customary primary eve predictions, but we’re more tired than Clinton’s hoarse voice. All we know is that John McCain will be the Republican nominee by the end of tomorrow, and our hope of seeing Mitt Romney return to the campaign will end. And that scares us more than any ringing telephone.