Now that the Clinton campaign is over, it is time to look back on the massive train wreck and see where it all went horribly wrong!

#5: Adopting a Fake Southern Accent
“I don’t believe he brought me this far to leave me.”
I don’t believe you have a southern accent.

#4: Thinking that this was actually a video worth releasing

Hillary Clinton is many things, she is not Web 2.0

#3: Drivers Licenses

This was probably the moment it all ended. If there was any thought in the collective mind of Iowa that Clinton would win, this pretty much ended it.

#2: Letting This Guy Run Her Campaign

In retrospect, Obama should have been paying Mark Penn to run Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

#1: Sniper Fire

Stunningly stupid!

Make sure to tell me what moments you think should be up on the list in the comments section!

FOX’s Major Garrett reports that it was the influence of Reps. Charlie Rangel of New York, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, and Norm Dicks of Washington that ultimately lead to Clinton dropping out. According to the report the three were influenced by a conference call Clinton held with 20 Congressional representatives in which she did not give a date for departure.

All three separately spoke with her and told the candidate a withdrawal plan was needed for the party.

Update 5:AP has called the nomination based on their tallies for Barack Obama. See the linked Post for new updates.

Update 4: Harold Ickes told a colleague, according to a report from colleagues staffer, that “it is over” and tonight will begin the process that will end on Thursday with HRC surrounded by donors and long-time supporters.

Update 3: Clinton campaign says in “big bold letters’ the AP Story is NOT CORRECT and Clinton will not concede tonight.

Update 2: Terry McAuliffe says she will not concede unless he gets the number which he claims Obama will not. Not to be Mr. Speculator but we’ve heard this dozens of times before, a candidate and their spokespeople claiming till the last second they won’t drop out then BAM. So we will see.

Update:: No one is sure yet if this announcement is contingent on him getting the 2,118 delegates tonight or if its over. Everyone is going crazy though on the 24/7 networks

The Associated Press has a news alert that Senator Hillary Clinton will admit tonight that Barack Obama has the nomination. Earlier Terry McAuliffe admitted that Clinton would leave if Obama reaches 2,118.

Here is the story.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation’s first female president.

The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City. She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.

Most campaign staff will be let go and will be paid through June 15, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge her plans.

More on the way

Update #3: CNN reports that sources close to negotiations say most of the remaining uncommitted superdelegate Senators will announce for Obama this week. Politico notes the 15 of them are meeting today to discuss an endorsement. Meanwhile Clinton still notes any one of the already declared superdelegates could switch at any point. Note they could also switch from her to Obama.

Update #2: Thomas B. Edsall is reporting that Obama & Clinton spoke yesterday and “agreed that their staffs should begin negotiations over post-primary activities.” According to the report Clinton is inviting top donors and supporters to a speech she will give following the primaries tomorrow night and that the move is “widely interpreted” as evidence she will suspend her campaign. (LA Times also looking at the signs)

Update: More evidence. Marc Ambinder reports Clinton staffers are being urged to turn in expense receipts by the end of the week a further sign to them that the campaign is ending. Mr. Clinton aides says he was referring to the end of the primary season and there are no remaining places for him to campaign for his wife concerning his earlier comment.

Despite the promise yesterday that the campaign would live on a flood of signals and signs are appearing all over the place that tomorrow will mark the end of the Clinton campaign.

Bill Clinton just said:

“I want to say also that this may be the last day I’m ever involved in a campaign of this kind. I thought I was out of politics, ’til Hillary decided to run. But it has been, one of the greatest honors of my life to go around and campaign for her for president,” said Clinton as he began his speech. (Video at CNN)

Meanwhile Senator Obama just announced at a Troy, Michigan event: “She and I will be working together in November.”

Earlier I noted Clinton advance people had been told their jobs were ending tomorrow and one of Clinton’s largest supporters Tom Vilsack has admitted defeat.

I would have to say it is unlikely Clinton will stay in past this week, with that said most of what has occurred this entire season has been unlikely so we will see.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who has been a longtime Clinton supporter and National Campaign Co-Chair appears to be admitting defeat and signaling tomorrow will mark the end of the primary campaign.

“It does appear to be pretty clear that Senator Obama is going to be the nominee. After Tuesday’s contests, she needs to acknowledge that he’s going to be the nominee and quickly get behind him.” (Associated Press)

Ben Smith over at Politico has the news that many of Clinton’s advance staff, the people who arrange campaign events around the country, have been told Tuesday will be their final day and given the option to either meet up with everyone in New York Tuesday night or to head home.

Is this a sign that the primary campaign has ended and Clinton has dropped out or just the shedding of excess staff?

While researching a future blog post I ran across this quote from David Axelrod given to Michael Slackman for a New York Times piece. Axelrod said of Hillary Clinton:

The theory, said David Axelrod, a Democratic political consultant based in Chicago, is that while a polarizing figure like Mrs. Clinton may motivate the opposition, she could also expand the Democrats’ base. ”If you accept the premise that we are a polarized country then part of the challenge is to maximize your base,” Mr. Axelrod said. ”I think she, as much as anybody, is in a position to do that.”

This picture obviously contrasts a bit with Axelrod and the Obama campaigns primary theme:

I would be the first to say a lot of those attacks against her were unfair and were a manifestation of an ugliness in our politics. But the fact is, she is a polarizing figure in our politics.

And if she were the nominee she would go into the general election with the highest negatives of any nominee that we’ve had in history. (Axelrod quoted by CBS in 2007)

Axelrod also offered the following advice:

Mr. Axelrod was an adviser in the presidential campaign of Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

PRIORITY — Get re-elected. Create a vision for the future. She must help the party redefine itself by focusing on issues, like globalization, as they relate to the middle class.

She should dive into health care as an offensive and defensive maneuver. This issue will be used against her. She can’t run away from it. We’re hurtling toward a crisis and she can say, ”I may not have approached this in precisely the right way, but I had no doubt then or now that health care is a crisis we have to face.”

ABORTION — Exit polls show Americans are moderately pro-choice. She should promote adoption and, yes, abstinence as part of an array of options through which the government reduces the number of abortions.

GAY MARRIAGE — Sixty percent of the voters said that they supported civil unions or gay marriage. It’s not the killer issue some have painted it as.

TERRORISM — If you’re trying to be the first female president, a premium will be attached to proving yourself as thoughtful as anyone on this issue. She’s got a wonderful platform on the Armed Services Committee.

CHANCES — There is a caricature of her out there, and she needs to introduce America to the real Hillary Clinton.

But she’d be the person to beat if she ran. Once you have the nomination anything can happen.

SUGGESTED THEME — ”Keeping America and the middle class strong in a changing world.”

Clinton supporter RFK Jr. weighs in on the recent Clinton controversy:

“It is clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the race through June. I have heard her make this reference before, also citing her husband’s 1992 race, both of which were hard fought through June,” he said in a statement released by the campaign. “I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.”

Politico reports that a senior Obama adviser has told the site Clinton supporters are “pushing real, real hard to get her on the ticket.”

Not exactly a surprise and I am not sure what exactly we can read by “Clinton supporters” are these superdelegates, Clinton staffers, Congressional representatives or just random people? Anyone could be pushing hard based on that statement so before we read too much into it I would like to hear names. With that said, few can figure out why Clinton is holding onto her campaign so tight while facing such an uphill battle. Angling for a VP slot is as good as any guess I can come up with.

Today Kentucky will undoubtedly bring a win for Clinton and Oregon a win for Obama, yet another stalemate that could keep the fuel going for team Hillary. With that said, all signs point to a quick shift occurring in the Democratic race.

Yesterday a report in Politico noted discussions between Obama campaign chief David Axelrod and former Clinton manager Patti Solis Doyle about a possible role for her in a general election campaign.

This morning The Wall Street Journal reports that adviser and former deputy Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton Roger Altman has advised Sen. Clinton the time has come to exit the race.

Inside her campaign, Sen. Clinton isn’t asking for advice, forcing advisers to hold off discussions on what she wants from the process if she loses — from dealing with campaign debt, to her role in an Obama bid for the White House. “The campaign has broken down to those who drink the Kool-Aid that Hillary can still win, and those who don’t, and are considering their options,” one operative said.

The WSJ article noted that the schism has Bill Clinton and Mark Penn (surprise, surprise) pushing Clinton to continue.

Meanwhile reports are that Senator Obama plans to declare victory tonight claiming 2,025 pledged delegates and superdelegates, considered a majority by the DNC excluding Florida & Michigan. Will Clinton fold? Right now it looks doubtful, check out a Washington Post article that looks at the difficulties in merging the Democratic factions together.