Clinton's hopes still alive, but barely so

PERHAPS HILLARY Clinton's Pennsylvania win kept "her hopes alive" (Page A1, April 23), but it's hard to see why. Do the math: Barack Obama is about 125 delegates ahead. There are 408 delegates left to be chosen by elections. All indications are that they will split nearly evenly. That leaves about 300 superdelegates who have not endorsed either candidate. Clinton needs more than 70 percent of these superdelegates to vote for her. Why should such a thing happen? She's only got 52 percent of the superdelegates who have endorsed so far. Even if the Michigan and Florida delegates were seated, Obama would still be ahead.

Sure, let's have the rest of the votes, so the late-voting states can be a part of the process for once. But let's not pretend that Clinton has any realistic chance.

KEN OLUM
Sharon

HILLARY CLINTON may be pressing on in her fight to win the Democratic nomination, but it's clear that she's losing support. Not only did Barack Obama cut her lead in Pennsylvania from 20 percent to 10 percent, but he brought in a huge number of new voters. With a win in North Carolina and Indiana, Obama can seal the deal. It's clear that he is going to be the nominee.

SARAH JANE VAUGHAN
Watertown

THE PENNSYLVANIA primary proved to be no surprise as Hillary Clinton, as expected, won by a comfortable margin, 55 percent to 45 percent, which many polls had predicted she would.

Clinton now appears to be a more viable candidate than Barack Obama, not because of the superdelegates, but because of her ability to be able to capture the big states, such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, California, and New York, which are critical in order for the Democrats to win the presidency.

KENNETH L. ZIMMERMAN
Huntington Beach, Calif.

I DON'T understand this. Hillary Clinton won Pennsylvania - and still the Democratic Party won't support her. Barack Obama wins Wyoming and the crowds go wild. Are the Republicans secretly running the Democratic Party? Anyone knows that John McCain can defeat Obama in the general election but that Clinton will give him a run for the money.

BARBARA KARLIN
Chestnut Hill