Nothing has changed or will change the fact that Hillary Clinton is not going to be president. Either she loses to Obama (or mercifully concedes since by any reasonable outlook she has already lost) or she causes the Democratic Party to implode in advance of a McCain landslide.

That being said, it's interesting to see consequential endorsements still coming her way. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley gave her a huge boost Tuesday with his backing (and superdelegate vote). While polls are noticeably tightening, realistically, nothing is going to win her North Carolina at this stage.

If she does win, however, the race is radically changed- specifically in the sense that it would become an actual race- and Mike Easley will be getting slobbered with national attention. He only needs to look to Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida to see how you can become a heavyweight overnight with the right endorsement at the right time.

Make no mistake that the Clintons promised him something big. Evan Bayh is supposed to be handing her Indiana on the same day and has been auditioning as her number two since he himself dropped out, so vice president is probably out of the question. A cabinet position? Maybe. It doesn't matter. In the unlikely event she wins, he is going to be cited as a major force. He will probably never see a better opportunity to inflate his political profile.

If on the other hand he backs Obama, Obama simply continues coasting to what was a preordained victory and Easley can grab a ticket to wait behind all the other blue governors in red states on Obama's radar (Sebelius in Kansas, Kaine in Virginia, Napolitano in Arizona). He gains no political capital from Obama.

Endorsing Hillary actually seems like a pretty shrewd move for middle-of-the-road politicians looking to make the leap. You'd get disproportionate credit for saving her campaign, while being just another name in the Obama stable. Obama and his campaign have also done nothing (yet) to indicate that they are the overly vindictive types, whereas forgiveness does not seem to be a Clinton strong suit (unless you are a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and accused them of murdering Vince Foster)

Re: Clinton Vindictiveness http://www.newsweek.com/id/134012