In light of this recent diary which suggests a strong possibility of Hillary Clinton simply refusing to concede, I think that we need to change the way we're responding to those who claim that Hillary Clinton should or could be the Democratic nominee. I've wasted countless hours trying to explain the numbers, the trends, the conventional wisdom, and the media spin surrounding this nomination to people who just won't hear reason.

It seems as if every time someone presents a fact to a Clinton surrogate, that person just responds with a hypothetical statement. Here are some common examples:

We've heard a lot from the Clinton camp about the popular vote lately. We've debated its merits to great extent here on MyDD. I personally believe that the statistic is insignificant because of the complexities of the nomination process, which were made even more complicated when Florida and Michigan violated DNC rules and lost their delegates.

Whatever you think about the popular vote, its relevance, and its actual tally, let's talk for a minute about the "Will of the People". I've heard this phrase thrown around a lot by Clinton supporters who try to argue that her popular vote numbers (whatever you think they actually are) represent a desire by most voters for her to be the nominee. But the will of the people changes quickly. So while popular vote totals for each candidate appear to be close, the reality is that "the people" overwhelming favor Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination.