That's the siren on Drudge (no permalink, as usual):

Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a sudden collapse in national polls and an expected fund-raising drought, Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?!

"She can't take multiple double-digit losses in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada," laments one top campaign insider. "If she gets too badly embarrassed, it will really harm her. She doesn't want the Clinton brand to be damaged with back-to-back-to-back defeats."

It seems a little premature to me. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time a Clinton pulled out early.

[Update late morning]

Wow. Dana Milbank sure isn't a Hillary fan.

[Another update before noon]

Looks like Bill Richardson has put all his chips on Obama:

"The preternaturally jolly McAuliffe is a good man to have spinning for you in a pinch. But his good cheer dimmed when I asked him about Bill Richardson, who appears to have made an 11th-hour deal to throw his supporters to Obama. "How many times did [Clinton] appoint him?" McAuliffe marveled. "Two? U.N. Ambassador and Energy Secretary?" He looked at me, half-glaring, awaiting confirmation. "I don't know," I joked, "but who's counting?" "I am," McAuliffe said firmly"

Joe Monahan this morning also cites current ABC newsman (and former Clintonista) George Stephanopolous to the same effect -- that Richardson has burned whatever bridge he may have had with the Clintons -- and Monahan suggests that, for Richardson, New Mexico may end up being the Land of Entrapment.

He might want to start wearing a helmet that can handle flying ashtrays.

[Afternoon update]

Brian Cherry has some pretty tart comments about the situation:

Iowa Democrat voters discarded Hillary like a healthy body rejecting a kidney transplant from a baboon. This was in a microcosm what can happen when Hillary is running in the general election against whoever the Republican’s choose as their nominee.

During the 2006 mid-term elections Republicans stayed home for a number of reasons. They were depressed by Congressional Republican’s spending money like a Kennedy at the Mustang Ranch; they were weighed down by a President who acted more and more like the leader of Mexico then the United States, and many were simply fooled by the Conservative talking candidates that the Democrats found to run for House and Senate seats. With Hillary on the ballot though, apathy will simply not be possible, and even many of the Republican voters who take issue with candidates like Giuliani over his opinions on abortion will come out to proudly put a nail in Hillary’s coffin. In short, the Clinton’s will have to find a way to deal with a Republican and Conservative voter turnout that will probably happen in unprecedented numbers. No wonder Hillary is all for importing the entire population of Mexico and giving each of them a driver’s license. That way they can also get a voters card combat the avalanche of opposition voters she will be contending with.

There will be those who take issue with what I am saying based on the idea that Hillary may not be the Democrat nominee. Despite her loss in Iowa she will probably bounce back and may very well be saved by the coasts and by states like Michigan where Obama and Edwards pulled themselves off the ballot because the mitten state moved their primary up against the wishes of the DNC. If she is still behind after Super Tuesday, there is always the possibility that Barack will be found face down in his morning bowl of Count Chocula with six bullet holes in his back and a suicide note written in same handwriting that was found on the Vince Foster suicide/resignation letter. She becomes the nominee by default in the case of this unfortunate accident.

By the way, for those in comments who tell me not to count her out yet, I don't. I'll believe it's over when Dorothy brings me the broom. And I think that it's going to get very nasty before then.

...that was painful.

Oh!

Ouch. That was really painful.

BTW Dana was very skeptical of Obama pre-Iowa.

This was funny. Everyone wants change after Obama's change worked in Iowa. Romney, McCain, Huckabee, Hillary, everyone. If it worked for Obama, that must be what works for everyone.

So it looks more like Richardson actually did make a deal with Obama. And McAulliffe and Stephanopolous don't like it? Well, I don't see how their opinions should matter. Stephanopolous has no political future unless a Clinton gets elected.

And McAuliffe has shown profound political misjudgement when, as chairman of the DNC, he restructured the Democrat party primaries (called "frontloading") so that early winners would have an even greater tendency to win the whole thing. This has in my humble opinion the expected effect of disfranchising late primary voters, generating a weaker candidate, and reducing the democrat turnout in the main elections. I see that effect being as least as sizeable as Nader especially in key states like Florida and Ohio which had their 2004 election primaries in March and May respectively.

And now he thinks Richardson should show loyalty to Hillary Clinton because her husband gave him two posts (probably as fulfillment of a Clinton election deal). I guess he remains out of touch.

Her demise could be the best news for the country since VJ Day. The headline won't be as prominent if she quits, but it will be as big a bomb for her to go to defeat. The MSM certainly has been pumping her up long enough. All, I hope, to no avail.

Steve, It's a funny thing. while you think that, all her supporters on lefty blogs think that the MSM hates her.

I guess everyone hates the MSM.

Oh, they love her cause, I think that's pretty well established. I don't think that she'd be getting this kind of press reaction ahead of the general election, where it might actually hurt the cause--look at how much of Bill's dirty laundry got buried.

But, this is the primary, and nobody says that *she* has to be the anointed one. Her big thing was her inevitability, and with that fading rapidly, the press is seeing the one thing that will sometimes trump their collective politics--blood in the water. The same thing applies to the constant exposes we see on Britney, Paris, et al. Somebody else--Obama or Edwards--can have their water carried in the general election, right now there is the opportunity to destroy a famous politician, and, since Watergate, isn't that what journalism is all about?

Don't count her out as yet. NH hasn't happened and she still leads in national polls. This might all turn out to be a preemie celebration. Obama can't rely on the support of independents in many other states.

Offside,
they certainly didn't push against her until after last week in Iowa. Once they saw Obama was out in front a little, they moved to him that's all. Up until then, they both had great write ups in the MSM.

The problem with the lib bloggers, and hubby Bill too, is that they thought she was a shoe in. And it can't fathomed the the loss could be her fault she lost. She after all, just like hubby Bill, is without fault, so someone else must be blamed.

"Don't count her out as yet. NH hasn't happened and she still leads in national polls. This might all turn out to be a preemie celebration. Obama can't rely on the support of independents in many other states."

Now there's a reach. Obama is leading by 10 points in New Hampshire. And he's going to win by 10 points tomorrow night. It's over.

Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire

No surprise that among all of the ways that Drudge is unreliable, he also doesn't know how to subtract. 37.58% - 29.47% = 8.11%.

I'll believe it's over when Dorothy brings me the broom.

You're mixing metaphors here. Before Hillary was Carmela Soprano; now she's the Wicked Witch of the West. But hey, mixing metaphors is fun. Let me suggest Nurse Ratched next. Also Lady Macbeth.

You're mixing metaphors here.

Apparently, you're unacquainted with the meaning of that phrase. Don't use big words when you don't understand them.

Today's gaffe has Hillary making the argument that she is more like LBJ and Obama is more like Dr. King and she apparently believes that argument will somehow win her votes.

Heh.