Friend --

News broke this morning that Senator Clinton made three separate loans to her campaign in the past 30 days -- including one as recently as Monday.

These loans total more than $6.4 million, which combined with her previous personal loans, add up to at least $11.4 million she's loaned her campaign since February.

A spokesman said she may continue to "loan the campaign additional money out of her jointly-held assets" -- which include more than $100 million in income since her husband left the White House.

Meanwhile, by winning a double-digit victory in North Carolina and closing the gap in Indiana, Barack won another 100 delegates.

Barack Obama is now just 169 delegates away from winning the Democratic nomination. It's within sight.

This is a decisive moment in this race.

Barack has already won more votes, more delegates, and more than twice as many states as Senator Clinton, whose path to the nomination has grown extremely narrow. But these loans show that her campaign will continue to contest the remaining primaries vigorously.

We need to show that the voices of more than 1.5 million ordinary people donating whatever they can afford are more powerful than one person giving more than $11 million to their own campaign.

Now is the time add your voice to our historic movement. Make a donation of $25 to match Senator Clinton's loan:

donate.barackobama.com/results.

Here's the math of where we stand ...

There are only six contests remaining on the Democratic primary calendar and only 217 pledged delegates left to be awarded. Only 7% of the pledged delegates remain on the table. There are 253 remaining undeclared superdelegates, for a total of 470 delegates left to be awarded.

With North Carolina and Indiana complete, Barack Obama only needs 169 total delegates to capture the Democratic nomination. This is only 36% of the total remaining delegates.

Conversely, Senator Clinton needs 326 delegates to reach the Democratic nomination, which represents a startling 69% of the remaining delegates.

With the Clinton path to the nomination getting even narrower, we expect new and wildly creative scenarios to emerge in the coming days.

While those scenarios may be entertaining, they are not legitimate and will not be considered legitimate by this campaign or its millions of supporters, volunteers, and donors.

You can help make sure Barack Obama is the nominee. Please make a donation of $25 now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/results

We want to be clear -- we believe that the winner of a majority of pledged delegates will be and should be the nominee of our party.

And we estimate that after the Oregon and Kentucky primaries on May 20th, we will have won a majority of the overall pledged delegates.

Evidently, the Clinton campaign agrees. According to a recent news report, by even their most optimistic estimates the Clinton campaign expects to trail by more than 100 pledged delegates and will then ask the superdelegates to overturn the will of the voters.

But we have our own case to make: that millions of Americans volunteering their time and donating in small amounts have built a campaign that has won the most delegates, the most states, and the most votes.

And this campaign -- your campaign -- will be the one that wins the presidency in November and delivers a wave of support for Democrats at every level of office.

Now is the time to step up and make it happen by owning a piece of this campaign. Make a donation of $25 today:

donate.barackobama.com/results

We'll be in touch as the situation evolves.
Thank you,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Dear *,

Today, in every way that I know how, I am expressing my personal determination to keep forging forward in this campaign.

After our come-from-behind victory in Indiana, there are just 28 days of voting left. But we've never campaigned with the stakes as high or the time as short as they will be over the next four weeks.

And with you by my side, I'm going to keep fighting for what I believe in until every voter has had his or her say.

From the very beginning, you and I have counted on one another, working through every challenge and seizing every opportunity. That's not just the way our campaign works. That's the way America works.

As we enter the final four weeks of this contest, let's keep working our hearts out.

Contribute now to keep moving our campaign forward.

In six days, we have the chance to show our strength in West Virginia. If you'll stand with me, it's an opportunity I intend to make the most of.

There's no question about it -- we've got to make every one of these next 28 days count -- starting with today.

Contribute now, and let's keep winning together.

As we've told each other time and time again. There will be good days and not so good days in the course of this campaign. But there will never be a day that we can't count on one another.

As we enter the final 28 days of voting, I know you'll give it everything you've got. And you know I will do the same.

Thanks for being such a wonderful friend and ally,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Still, even a mild defection of Democrats could prove critical if the country undergoes another presidential election as close as the last two, and Mr. Obama's advisers said they were well aware of that as they prepared for the months ahead.

Carport wall: Purple and pink ranunculus and scarlet sweet william, are mixed in with red leafed heuchera, and the white bacopa is trailing over the brick top of the wall.

Patio: the fish are busy in the newly sprouted lily leaves and the Royal Sunset rose has begun to bloom on it's trellis on the fence.  The rose, lemon tree and honeysuckle rise to the occasion when the sun hits them.

Playhouse: the clematis is still spreading up the fence and over the rustic playhouse (on stilts) and the ferns, hostas and bleeding heart are safe under it's shade, the wild violets are rampant and the foxglove are starting their climb for the sky.

Backyard: the cutting bed is in transition.  The tulips, freesia and white azalea are done and the snapdragons, standard roses and strawberries are coming on.  It looks like it's going to be a bumper crop.  The hummingbirds are busy at their feeder hanging at one end of the copper arbor and the goldfinches have arrived to feast at their niger feeder at the other end.  I had forgotten how yellow they are and how striking the markings on their folded wings.

Westside:  the white crowned sparrows are emptying the feeder twice a week.  The male flicks out the seed he doesn't like.  It's obviously the flax seed as that is what is blooming under the feeder.  The fig tree has popped. The neighbors 50 year old flowering cherry tree hangs heavy over our shared fence and it is making snow storms when it gets hit by the wind.  Quacking aspen is turning green but not enough for the birds to hide in yet.  The wisteria is heading along it's fence and up it's arbor.  Pink blooming heuchera, columbine are blooming under the trees and the tarragon is going crazy.

::small things happy dance::

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

Thank you for your service to our country and our party.

I notice that the DCCC is once again asking me for money. I understand that campaigning is expensive, so I don't blame you for making the request. This time, however, the answer is no.

Here's why:

You may remember a DCCC fundraiser in San Francisco a week before the 2006 elections. You were there, as was Rahm Emanuel, but the main attraction was President Clinton. I was among the many hundreds of people who had happily contributed at least [*] to attend. Back then, you and the DCCC had no qualms about using the great affection Democrats had for President Clinton to raise money, and he, of course, was only too happy to oblige.

Two years later, however, it's a different story. You and other Democratic Party leaders have stood silently while his reputation, as well as that of Hillary Clinton, has been repeatedly slandered by Senator Obama's campaign and by the media. You did not defend them against inflated and baseless charges of racism, and you did not speak out meaningfully against the ridiculously unfair media coverage that Senator Clinton's has suffered throughout the primary season.

Clearly you are free to support whichever candidate you choose, and it appears that you have chosen Senator Obama. But we are Democrats first and campaign partisans second. I am extremely pained and troubled by the way you have passively allowed the smearing of two of our party's most dedicated and accomplished public servants. It would have taken only one strong statement from someone in your position to put an end to it, but no such statement ever came.

I expect that the party will once again ask for President Clinton's and Senator Clinton's help this fall. I am certain that they will do everything they can. They deserve much better than they have received.

Sincerely yours,
[*]

I really don't understand why there is the view, as Jeralyn expressed, that HRC will get more through congress.  Where's the proof?

Has she passed legislation that impacts the entire nation or the world (such as being the lead D on gov. accountability and expanding international arms control, or being one of two lead Ds on the biggest ethics reform in 25 years?)

And, if she's going to be so great at moving legislation, why (with all of her inherited D Party power) does it seem that BO is just as (maybe more) popular with the D Congressional leadership and membership, i.e. SDs?

The answers to these questions demonstrate why BO is actually the more capable leader.  Jumping up and down and claiming that you're a fighter, changemaker, resultser, doer, solutionser, doesn't actually accomplish anything.

I also am very skeptical.  I was in Lake County myself.  The turn-out in Gary was unbelievably impressive.  100,000 doors knocked on in the last week, and with early voting, many, many people voted.

BTW, Hillary really is a lifelong Yankees fan.

Since Will starts out with the long-debunked canard that she only became a Yankees fan when she was running for Senator, it's a good indication of the value of the rest of the piece.

 A victory for all.

Even though I am an Obama supporter, you raised many good points.