Why Obama Needs Clinton to Stay in Race

A lot of Obama supporters on the blogs are calling for Clinton to get out if she loses the New Hampshire primary. There is even a report out that some of her advisers are urging such a course of action. The concern among such advisers is that Clinton will damage her Senatorial career if she continues the fight for the Democratic nomination even though she is losing primaries. Obviously the reason why Obama's supporters want Clinton to drop out are much different than those of her advisers who may want her to drop out. As a practical matter, though, Obama's supporters should want Clinton to stay in the race. Here's why:

1. The media doesn't like Hillary Clinton. As long as she is in the race, Obama will continue to get favorable treatment from the media as compared to Clinton. Once she is gone, that dynamic will no longer exist and his media coverage could get more critical.

2. In politics it helps to beat somebody as compared to nobody. One reason why Obama is getting good press is that political reporters were stunned that he beat Clinton, who they regarded as having the best organization. Every time Obama beats Clinton in a primary, he looks better. Beating John Edwards doesn't have the same impact.

3. The more you have to campaign, the better you get at it. Politics is like most human endeavors, the more you practice it, the better you become. Running against Clinton is making Obama a better candidate, tougher, more experienced, and more ready to take on the Republicans in the general election if he is the nominee.

4. The media like s horse race and you want to give them one. Once the Democratic nomination is settled, the media will pay less attention to Obama. That's especially true if the Republicans have a race and the Democrats don't.

It will be interesting to see what Clinton does if she loses New Hampshire. She will definitely go on to South Carolina, where, according to recent polls, Obama has a big advantage and she will go on to Nevada. If she loses both of those, then the question becomes whether she will continue on to the February 5 round of primaries. Obama's campaign can only hope that she will engage him through at least the February 5th primaries. In the long run, it can only benefit him.