Elizabeth Drew, writing in The New York Review of Books, characterizes Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy as "molehill politics":

In this fight, the Clinton camp is the more aggressive of the two, and it's adept at what might be called molehill politics: making a very big deal in the press about something that's a very small deal—such as a single word in a mailing or a slip-up by an aide. Clinton's strategists pounce on whatever opportunity presents itself to attack Obama, and try to knock him off his own message, and his stride.

According to Drew, Hillary can't make positive steps forward; all she can do is try to bring Obama down. It's come down to the superdelegates, since Hillary would have to win by at least 20% in every remaining primary contest if she wanted to beat Obama in pledged delegates. Ever since the Texas and Ohio primaries -- which, instead of definitively ending the contest, assured only that it would continue -- Hillary has abandoned the state primaries and instead focused on superdelegates. This, says Drew, is Clinton's goal: "to convince the as-yet-uncommitted superdelegates which candidate would be stronger in the general election -- regardless of who has won the most pledged delegates." The 3 AM ad, the mortgage crisis ad: these are designed to convince superdelegates that Obama is not as electable as Clinton.

In the meantime, according to Daily Kos, the Republican National Committee is trying to get Hillary Clinton seated as the Democratic nominee because they believe she will be easier to defeat.

And all the while, John McCain is portrayed as a "maverick" in the so-called mainstream media even as he adjusts his positions to match those of the Republican mainstream. McCain, who has never been particularly religious, switched to evangelical Protestantism in order to appease that wing of the Republican party. McCain's foreign policy has also taken a turn toward neoconservatism, ensuring that this once-maverick politician joins the Republican mainstream and delivers us four more years of what we've seen since 2001.