HE'S DEFENDING THEIR HONOR, WHICH IS MORE THAN THEY'VE EVER DONE

In my last post I mentioned what Thomas Edsall wrote about considerations that -- at least according to conventional wisdom -- might persuade Hillary Clinton to make nice:

...While Clinton currently has her eye focused on only one thing, the presidential nomination, if she loses -- as appears increasingly likely -- her stature in the Senate will depend, in part, on whether she is ultimately seen as helping or hurting Obama's chances in November.

That stature, in turn, will be crucial in determining her success if she decides to try to climb the Senate leadership ladder....

Is Edsall nuts? These are the same people who won't strip Joe Lieberman of a committee chairmanship even as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nominee. Edsall thinks they're going to have the self-respect to punish Hillary Clinton if they think she's hurt Obama's chances? That's absurd. I'm convinced she could take the nomination fight to the Supreme Court after the primaries are over, or even after the convention, and they'd still give her anything she wanted next year in the Senate -- hell, they'd probably be more inclined to give her what she wanted. They'd be afraid of her.

OK, maybe that's a bit hyperbolic -- but trust me, none of her colleagues are going to punish her. They're Democrats. If there's the risk of a real fight, they're going to be afraid to take their own side.