The elusive metric

Hillary Clinton8217;s backers are desperately seeking a metric with which to declare a lead over Barack Obama

Desperately seeking a metric with which to declare a lead over Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton8217;s backers have tried to float the notion that she leads in 8220;electoral votes8221; from states where primaries and caucuses have been held, 219 to 202.

Never mind that electoral votes have absolutely nothing to do with picking the Democrats8217; nominee. And never mind that 86 of Clinton8217;s 8220;electoral votes8221; come from New York and California 8212; where both she and Obama would be winners in the general election.

The Electoral Vote Metric is likely to last about as long as the failed Caucus State vs. Primary State Metric or the Red State vs. Blue State Metric. So the Clinton campaign will soon need new talking points. These are the metrics they should be pushing:

Clinton has a remarkable lead over Obama in all the 8220;New8221; states. In addition to her home state of New York, she has won in New Jersey, New Hampshire and New Mexico 8212; giving her a clean sweep of the states that start with 8220;New.8221; Obama has failed to win a single New state. Stump line: 8220;She wins the states where being new really matters!8221;

Clinton maintains an alphabetical advantage. Although each candidate has won two 8220;A8221; states 8212; with Obama taking Alabama and Alaska, and Clinton winning Arizona and Arkansas 8212; Clinton has an impressive overall lead. Obama8217;s alphabetical standing is dragged down by his unfortunate victories in Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. A Clinton win May 3 in Guam, although worth only a few delegates, would guarantee her claim as the stronger alphabetical candidate. Stump line: 8220;Put an Alpha Female in the White House!8221;

Coffee drinkers seem to be going for Hillary in a big way. She leads in Starbucks stores in states won, 4,341 to 3,888, benefiting from her win in California, which has a whopping 2,010 Starbucks outlets. Stump line: 8220;Pick a president who8217;ll always be wide-eyed at 3 am!8221;

Clinton supporters should draw more attention to the nation8217;s baseball fans, who last summer cast 18.5 million votes to elect the all-star team. Clinton has a commanding lead in Major League Baseball teams in states won, 16 to 11. Of course, this metric requires validating the results from Florida and Michigan, but why would party leaders risk disenfranchising fans of the Marlins, Rays and Tigers? Stump line: 8220;It ain8217;t over till it8217;s over!8221;

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The Clinton campaign should be able to spin the fact that Obama has shown surprising strength in states with female governors. He has won six such states vs. only one for her. Is there any YouTube footage of Obama8217;s secret statehouse visits? Stump line: 8220;I reject gender-based politics on all levels!8221;

Most impressive, perhaps, is that using the letters 8220;c,8221; 8220;i8221; and 8220;f8221; from California, plus the 8220;e8221; from Massachusetts and the 8220;h8221; from Oklahoma, Clinton backers can spell the word 8220;chief.8221; Although Obama has an impressive roster of states won, they simply don8217;t give him the necessary letters. Stump line: 8220;Ready to spell chief on Day One!8221;

And that should keep the media busy 8212; and voters confused 8212; until May 6, when Hillary8217;s supporters are certain to point out that by winning the North Carolina primary she can garner all the letters necessary to spell 8220;Clinton.8221; Stump line: 8220;If these metrics don8217;t work, we8217;ve got plenty more!8221;