My Senator, Norm Coleman, was sworn in on January 7, 2003, just before the start of the Iraq War, when the price of oil was $31.08 per barrel. On July 21, 2008 the price of oil had risen to $131.04 a barrel, $100 higher. That's an increase of 320% in five and a half years. My Congressman, John Kline, began his career in congress at the same time, and like Norm, he still serves.

One of the underreported stories about Barack Obama's visit to Minnesota on Tuesday night is what happened afterwards: in a private room in the Xcel Center, Barack and Michelle Obama held a reception for prominent local supporters of Hillary Clinton.

As usual, the story is found only in MinnPost.com, which is quickly becoming the premier source for Minnesota politics, scooping both of the local pulp-printed newspapers.

We all know that Hillary Clinton needs to win the Pennsylvania primary to stay in the race. But how much does she have to win it by?

The answer is a bit surprising: Hillary must win PA by roughly 64-36 or more, in order avoid digging herself into an even deeper hole in the pledged delegate race. Specifically, she need to win at least 101 of Pennsylvania's 158 pledged delegates. Anything less, and things just get worse for her.

The reason is after the fold.

Early exit polling indicate roughly a tie among delegates awarded March 4, similar to the very tight pre-election polling we've seen. And for Obama, a draw is as good as a win. There just aren't enough states left for Clinton to catch up.

And there are two big shoes about to drop in the coming week.
First, Tom Brokaw reported yesterday that he was told by an Obama campaign official that they have 50 -- yes FIFTY -- superdelegate endorsements in their pocket, waiting for the right moment to announce. Here's the video:
http://thepage.time.com/2008/03/04/tom-b rokaw-says-obama-has-50-more-superdelega tes-in-his-back-pocket/

That would give Obama the lead in both pledged delegates AND in superdelegates, and a combined lead in all delegates in the +170 range. With only 611 delegates left to be chosen.

Second, Obama has not yet announced his February fundraising totals. Clinton raised $35 million, and the Obama camp has said that their number will be "substantially" higher than that. Most projections put the number over $50 M, some put it over $70 M, and one on Daily Kos (okay, okay, it was mine) put it at nearly $80 M.

This one-two punch will be seriously crippling to the Clinton campaign. I expect Obama to announce both within a few days of today (March 4). And that's why fighting Obama to a draw today (as early exit polls indicate) just won't be good enough for Hillary.

I like her, and I admire her. I would have been proud to vote for her in the GE. But she's lost this one.