Times columnist and walking self-parody Maureen Dowd insists today that "Democrats are trying to sneak up on Hillary, throw a burlap sack over her head, carry her off the field and stick her in a Saddam spider hole until after the Denver convention." Yep, the party is through with Senator Hillary Clinton. "Democrats are coming around to the point Jay Rockefeller made 10 days ago after introducing Obama in West Virginia: 'Democrats always make a mistake by nominating people who know everything on earth there is to know about public policy. I introduced both Al Gore and John Kerry at their rallies. They knew all the policies, but people didn't connect with them. You don't get elected president if people don't like you.'" Plus, the ladies of The View find Barack Obama "sexy," so surely the race is over.

"One Obama adviser moaned that the race was 'beginning to feel like a hostage crisis' and would probably go on for another month to six weeks. And Obama said that the 'God, when will this be over?' primary season was like 'a good movie that lasted about a half an hour too long.' Hillary sunnily riposted that she likes long movies. Her favorite as a girl was 'The Wizard of Oz,' so surely she spots the 'Surrender Dorothy' sign in the sky and the bad portent of the ladies of 'The View' burbling to Obama about how sexy he is." Okay, case closed.

"But who knows? Obama and Bob Casey talking March Madness to the patrons of Sharky's sports cafe in Latrobe, Pa., on Friday night seemed demographically clever. But it is always when Hillary is pushed back by the boys that women help hoist her up." Note to all you young journos eager to someday be this relevant: Cover all bases. [NYT]