So How Is The Press Shaping Hillary Clinton's Current Nomination Status?

Not the way she would like, I'd say:

The Independent: "Only The Superdelegates Can Save Clinton Now"

A determined – possibly deluded – Hillary Clinton gave no hint yesterday of preparing to concede the race for the Democratic nomination, vigorously pursuing votes across South Dakota in the closing hours of this protracted primary season even as her foe, Barack Obama, stood within striking distance of the prize.

Rather than pausing to ponder harsh truths, Mrs Clinton continued to pour her energies into battle as South Dakota and Montana today become the last states to hold primary elections. Her website directed visitors instantly to a page soliciting more funds under a headline: "Keep the Momentum Going!"

The time for a reality check will come today, however, as five months of stumping finally ends. Mrs Clinton will huddle with advisers and her husband, Bill Clinton, in her Chappaqua home in New York before addressing supporters in a college gym in Manhattan. As she awakes, even she may still not know whether her speech will be one of defiance or concession.

CNN: "Sources: Senate Superdelegates Will Throw Support To Obama"

Most of the 17 Democratic senators who are uncommitted superdelegates will endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president this week, sources told CNN Monday.

The lawmakers will wait until after the South Dakota and Montana primaries Tuesday before announcing their support for Obama, two sources familiar with discussions between Obama supporters and these senators told CNN's Gloria Borger.

Obama supporters have been "pressing" for these superdelegates to endorse early this week, but according to one source, "the senators don't want to pound Hillary Clinton, and there is a sense she should be given a grace period."

The New York Times: "Winning Again, Clinton Weighs Her Options "

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won another overwhelming victory over Senator Barack Obama on Sunday — this time in Puerto Rico — even as many Democrats, including some of her supporters, suggested it would be best if she dropped her threat to battle on past the end of the primary voting on Tuesday.

“There’s nobody taking Hillary’s side but Hillary people,” said Donald Fowler of South Carolina, a former national party chairman and one of Mrs. Clinton’s most prominent supporters, referring to her campaign’s suggestions that she might seek to challenge the way the party resolved the fight this weekend over seating the Michigan and Florida delegations. “It’s too bad. She deserves better than this.”

In a telephone interview Sunday from San Juan, P.R., Mrs. Clinton still raised the possibility that she would challenge the party’s decision on seating those delegates. “Well, we are going to look at that and make a determination at some point,” she said. “But I haven’t made any decision at this time.”

FoxNews: "Bill Clinton Acknowledges Democratic Fight Is Winding Down"

Hillary Clinton is keeping tight-lipped about her plans for Wednesday, the day after the final two Democratic primary contests, but her husband, former President Bill Clinton may already have thrown in his towel.

“This may be the last day I’m ever involved in a campaign of this kind,” he told South Dakota voters on Monday.

South Dakota and Montana hold Democratic contests on Tuesday, capping an extraordinarily long primary season that will not result in either Clinton or Barack Obama receiving enough pledged delegates to seize the nomination.

The Clinton campaign said Hillary Clinton is not dropping out of the race after South Dakota and Montana’s returns come in, and has denied it’s making staff cuts.

And that's not counting Newsweek and the Washington Post, both whom have debunked her "popular vote" myth (in the Democratic Primaries, it's the delegate count that...er, counts).

Rachel Maddow made an interesting comment today on what may be Clinton's last gambit. As those who have been watching this whole thing closely knows, the Senator's best chance of closing the gap between her and Senator Barack Obama is to get some of his superdelegates to switch back. To date I'm not sure that has ever happened (and if has, no where near to the degree it has from Clinton to Obama). Anyway, Maddow believes that because the superdelegates are technically in play until the convention in Denver, Clinton may try to keep her campaign going until then.

Of course, if after tomorrow night the new mission is lobbying the superdelegates, this would make her current "male every vote count" mantra ring very hollow.

Also, as Maddow points out: it would drag the nomination process out even longer, almost guaranteeing Senator John McCain (between this and the free ride he's getting in the media) a sizable advantage.

If Clinton is looking for a some kind of "Second Prize," it's hard to tell what exactly it is. Her surrogates have been talking as if it's the nomination or bust. Former President Bill Clinton, at least according to whispers, seems to be working behind-the-scenes for a VP deal (but considering the animosity between the camps and the fact that Obama's and Sen. Clinton's have taken different approaches to politics, this scenario is very doubtful). There's always a "Proxy VP," and by that I mean someone the Clinton Camp chooses in their stead to work with Obama. And as Randi Rhodes said last week: if the Clinton's have enough political pull left to get a VP vote in Denver, there's really little Obama can do to stop it.

As it has been since the numbers made reality abundantly clear, the only person who can end this is Hillary Clinton herself. Calls for her to quit clearly haven't worked, and I'm praying that she doesn't pull a Joe Lieberman on the Democratic Party and runs independent as "Democrats for Hillary" or something equally absurd (I may sound like I'm wearing a tin foil hat, but considering that Mike Bloomberg is still hanging around out there and if people are suggesting that Obama should pick him as a running mate, what's stopping Clinton from doing the same?). Hey; if Dick Cheney can apologize for something than anything's possible.

Anything, including a possible reconciliation.