As a Hillary supporter, I think people would rally around the nominee. However, the worst thing Obama could do would be to *assume* our support. I'm sure, for every Obama-person who thinks Hillary is shrill and evil, there's a Hillary-supporter who thinks Obama is vacuous, cultish, and ineffectual. So, obviously, some healing has to be done.

However, there are two problems:

(1) There is an increasingly little time for the nominee to unite the party. And I see no way around this. I think Hillary owes both herself and her supporters to stick it out 'til Ohio and Texas. If she loses one, she should withdraw. However, if she wins both, she should fight on 'til Pennsylvania in April. Neither candidate will get a majority of pledged delegates before the Convention. However, either candidate can get a majority of actual votes, which would give a powerful argument for a popular mandate. Because, really, who cares about the byzantine delegate allocation rules Iowa, Nevada and Texas dream up? Count the votes.

(2) McCain, while he might not get the support of Democrats, is respected and/or *not feared* by many, many people. Thus, it is a dangerous position when many people, like me, think "Well, a McCain presidency wouldn't be *that* bad." What that translates to is less motivated supporters, canvassers, donors, etc. This is particularly true if McCain comes across (which he seems from his recent comments) as the more substantial and heavy-weight candidate. Of course, an Obama candidacy would be buttressed by someone more able to speak in the prose of governance - that would appeal to many Hillary-supporters, I think.