Top Clinton fundraisers told Hillary can only get nomination through super-delegates

Greg Sargent has a report on a meeting of top Hillary fundraisers:

Fundraisers were given a presentation on Florida by Senator Bill Nelson, and one on Michigan by Senator Debbie Stabenow, and senior Hillary adviser Harold Ickes walked listeners through the challenges ahead. The presentations had a tone of optimism tempered by realism, the fundraiser said, adding that Ickes didn't try to persuade his listeners that she would be able to catch up with Obama in pledged delegates.

Rather, the clear message emerging from the presentations was that Hillary's success depends on the campaign's ability to persuade the super-delegates that they should be considering three "data points," as this fundraiser puts it, in considering whom to back: The pledged delegate count, the popular vote, and the specific states won by each candidate.

Okay, let's review: 1) Clinton can't and won't win the pledged delegate count; 2) Hillary can't and won't win the popular vote; and 3) Hillary has lost an overwhelming majority of the states. By her campaign's own "data points," it's over. She can't win the nomination and shouldn't.

On NPR this morning, Hillary did add another firewall -- Puerto Rico:

"We'll wait and see where the voters go," Clinton says, when asked if she thinks the superdelegates should follow the lead of the popular vote. "I want to see what happens in Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico, Michigan and Florida."

Yes, Puerto Rico (not Missouri, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, Washington, Wisconsin... ) is now a big part of her super-delegate strategy --even if that undermines her other argument that only a winning a few primaries in some big states matters.

The Clinton campaign is always re-setting the bar, cherry-picking what "counts." And, the punditry, loving the game and the ratings, plays along. But, this game is dangerous. The longer it goes on -- the more "kitchen sink" the Clinton campaign throws -- the worse it gets for Democrats.

The Clintons can't win this fair and square. She can't win if she has to play by the rules. That's why Harry Reid had to remind "everyone" that we can't change the rules in the middle of the game. The Clintons want the White House again. They think it is theirs. And, that's all that matters.