I think so. I think Clinton being ignored is even worse than being attacked, the attacks may provoke a backlash as in New Hampshire. But being ignored is fatal for any candidate.

When the media stopped devoting reporters to follow John Edwards it was sure a sign he was finished.

If the story is always Obama v McCain, then Democrats are going to fall in line behind Obama.

A great question. I'm assuming McCain believes it's over for Clinton. So this is an anti-Obama strategy. He doesn't care about its effects on Clinton.

It's targeted at independents, who have also already given up on Clinton. McCain just wants to keep them from signing on with Obama. He'll be happy at the side effect -- Clinton pushed to the sidelines, as you say.

Noriega will surprise people. It's uphill, of course, but the national scene is for the first time in decades helping us in Texas. Rick's resume and standing in the community are impeccable. I give him a good chance. It'd be a better chance if the DSCC decided to judge these kinds of things prospectively and funded him from early on. The problem with eliminating possibilities of the future by condemning a state like Texas for its past:  it can be self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe we can change that, maybe Rick will win without the early money from the DSCC.

Noriega looks like a good candidate in a Democratic year in a state where the pendulum is swinging back rapidly toward blue.

I'd say it's about 1 in 10 that he might beat Cornyn.  It's a big state, very expansive, and the pendulum is headed toward blue but it isn't nearly there yet.

Still, that's pretty good odds for Texas.

It's that way all over the south. Obama pitted black vs. white and has split the party. People are saying that they'll either stay home or vote McCain. That's why Obama gets blown out in every state in the south even border states.

I guess you can write off his ability to win VA, Right?

See my reply below. Briefly, I make two observations. 1) Clinton can't catch up in delegates, in part because the selection system in Texas will help Obama (accidentally -- it's been in place for decades). 2) McCain is trying to drive a wedge between independent voters and Obama. It's a smart strategy.

It's about who McCain wants to face.  Personally, I think this strategy of getting involved in the other party's primary can backfire.  Maybe McCain thinks Clinton is the tougher opponent in the long run, despite the polls.  So he's trying to make her irrelevant.  

Iceblinkjm, yeah I feel as you do.

I'm sure that they were just angry that they would no longer count after voting for him.  :)

was horrendous. The ones who spoke for Hillary got up and spoke  passionately "for" Hillary with nary a word about Obama. The ones who spoke for Obama got up and trashed Hillary and didn't say much "for" Obama. It was so bad that those of us supporting Hillary had to start booing loudly. The moderator, the guy in charge of the mic, told us no booing aloud and we must keep it civil. I yelled out, "Tell them to keep it civil on the mic and we'll keep it civil out here." It was awful and just totally disgusted me.

Look, there are some rude obnoxious Obama supporters, there are some ragingly angry Hillary supporters, Obama tends to skew younger so perhaps more caucus rudeness, I dunno.  But, this is getting ridiculous.  It will probably, though not certainly, be Obama.  Hillary supporters have got to decide whether they can vote for him or stay home--I get that.  Hopefully they will not turn so desperate they will give a vote to a man who is opposed to most of what they value.   But, unless no one gives a damn about the Democratic party (in which case, what attracts you to this Blog)the "your candidate is pure garbage and his/her supporters are degenerate creeps" needs to stop.  Hopefully the convention will repair things but this hatred from camp to camp is nuts.

I posted, a while back, a post on why I could not vote for HRC if she won.  I was wrong.  There is a bunch of reasons I felt justified that, but there is a much greater reason to vote Democratic regardless.  I have rarely seen so many people mobilized for a primary.  That independents are voting Democratic, particularly young ones, for the first time in a long time, bodes great for their future identification with the Democratic party.

Can we try to not screw this up this time and give whoever is our candidate a fighting chance without leaving the primary season too bloodied.

I disagree. The people you note were not and are not "drug addicts". Bush was and is an alcoholic.