Gerard Baker, writing in the Times of London, wonders about whether or not Americans are ready to embrace the far-left policies of Barack Obama. I think most Americans don't yet have a clue about his far-left policies, but when they get that clue, things will start looking up for John McCain and the GOP.

Jay Cost analyzes the Democratic race at this point, and sees some evidence that Obama is gaining ground with poor, white voters. Just another sign that Obama is nearing the point where he can knock Hillary out of the race. At this point, Hillary has only one hope, which I will now examine.

According to CNN, the latest delegate count puts Obama at 1,319 (1,158 pledged and 161 supers) and Clinton at 1,250 (1,016 pledged and 234 supers). To win the nomination one needs to reach 2,025 total delegates. The next chance to win delegates comes on Tuesday, March 4. Ohio will hold a primary, at which time 141 delegates will be allocated. Rhode Island will hold a primary, allocating 21 delegates. Vermont will hold a primary, allocating 15 delegates. In Texas, a complex primary-caucus combination will allocate 126 delegates based on the primary vote, then caucus attendeees will select delegates to county and senate district conventions, which will later choose delegates to the state convention, which will then choose the remainder of the pledged delegates (67). So, a total of 303 delegates will be immediately available, with that Texas caucus starting the process toward allocating their 67 remaining pledged delegates. Obama is ahead by 69. To catch him that day, Clinton will need to win 234 of those 303, or 77%. Under Democratic party rules, which allocate delegates proportionally by state-wide and/or congressional district vote (except in Texas where it is done by state senate districts), it seems an impossible task even if Hillary wins big victories everywhere that day, which she will not. So, let's examine the best case for Clinton, day-by-day, as we move forward, to see how she might be able to pull it off.

March 4 - 303 available. Obama will likely win most of Vermont's delegates. Let's say Obama wins 9 delegates and Clinton wins 4. Clinton should do well in Rhode Island, as she did in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, so let's give her 14 and Obama 7. She should win in Ohio, so let's give her 90 and Obama 51. In Texas, it looks to be close, so let's split the delegates, but give a slight edge to Clinton, 66 to 60. So, at the end of the day, under that scenario (not counting the additional 67 delegates that Texas will award later), Obama would have 1,446 and Clinton would have 1,424. Clinton down only 22.

March 8 - 7 delegates awarded in Wyoming at county caucuses. Obama should do well, so lets give him 5 to Clinton's 2. Obama 1,451, Clinton 1,426. Clinton down 25.

March 11 - 33 delegates awarded in a Mississippi primary. Should be good for Obama. Let's give him 20 and Clinton 13. Obama 1,471, Clinton 1,439. Clinton down 32.

April 22 - 158 delegates awarded in a Pennsylvania primary. This is hard to read. The latest poll of Pennsylvania shows Clinton ahead 44% to 32%, but a lot can happen between now and April 22. But, since this is a best-case scenario for Clinton, let's say she holds her lead in the Keystone State. So, give her 90 delegates to Obama's 68. Obama 1,539, Clinton 1,529. Clinton down only 10.

May 3-17 - 55 delegates awarded in Colorado's two-tier convention system. 19 have already been calculated into CNN's number based on the Feb. 5 event, so lets hand out the rest based on those results. Obama 24, Clinton 12. So, Obama 1,563, Clinton 1,541. Clinton down 22.

May 6 - 72 delegates in a primary in Indiana. I have no clue as to what might happen in Indiana. So, let's call it a draw. Obama 36, Clinton 36. In North Carolina, 115 delegates are at stake in a primary. Let's say this should be fertile ground for Obama, as South Carolina was, so call it Obama 70, Clinton 45. So, for the day, Obama wins 106 and Clinton wins 81. Obama 1,669, Clinton 1,622. Clinton down 47.

May 13 - 28 delegates awarded in a West Virginia primary. Part of the state is similar to Virginia, and part to Ohio, but let's call it Clinton country for purposes of this analysis. Clinton 18, Obama 10. Obama 1,679, Clinton 1,640. Clinton down 39.

May 20 - 51 delegates awarded in a Kentucky primary. Let's give it to Clinton. Clinton 30, Obama 21. 52 delegates in an Oregon primary. This should be Obama country. Obama 30, Clinton 22. So, at the end of the day, Clinton wins 52 and Obama 51. Obama 1,730, Clinton 1,692. Clinton down 38.

June 3 - 16 delegates in a Montana primary. Obama has done well in these Western states. Call it Obama 10, Clinton 6. 15 delegates in a South Dakota primary. Should look like Montana. Call it Obama 9, Clinton 6. For the day, Obama wins 19 and Clinton 12. Obama 1,749, Clinton 1,704. Clinton down by 45.

June 7 - 55 delegates in a caucus in Puerto Rico. Caucuses have been good for Obama, but Hispanic voters have been kind to Hillary (so far). Let's call it a slight edge to Obama. Obama 30, Clinton 25. In Texas, those remaining 67 delegates are pledged in a convention based on the caucuses held the same day as the primary. Let's give Clinton a slight edge, Clinton 35, Obama 32. So, for the day, Obama wins 62, Clinton 60. Obama 1,811, Clinton 1,764. Clinton down by 47. Due to the fact that some of the delegates in prior contests have not been awarded based on the CNN calculation, I am short by 73 delegates so, for purposes of this scenario, let's give a slight edge to Clinton and award Clinton 40 and Obama 33 of those delegates. The total is now Obama 1,844 and Clinton 1,804. Clinton down by only 40 delegates.

That's the end of the line. So, best case scenario for Hillary is that she prevents Obama from winning the necessary number of pledged delegates to win the nomination outright. That leaves it to the super delegates. There are scheduled to be 3,253 pledged delegates at the convention (which I have allocated using the real world and speculative math above) and 796 super delegates, of which at the moment Clinton has 234 and Obama 161 (those delegates are factored in to the final numbers above). So, since 395 super delegates are already committed, under this scenario the decision will be made by the remaining 401. If Obama can win 181 of those, he wins. If Clinton wins 221 of those, she wins.

So, to repeat, under the best-case scenario for Hillary Clinton to win the nomination, she needs to get the race to the convention and allow super delegates to decide the matter. I can think of nothing better for the GOP, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.