Breaking News: The Obvious, Pt. II.

"One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning." Following the lead of Chuck Todd and the NYT, Politico's Jim Vanderhei and Mike Allen make the staggering realization that the Democratic primary is over. "[S]he has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else. People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet...In other words: The notion of the Democratic contest being a dramatic cliffhanger is a game of make-believe."

This is all true, of course, and it's good to see MSM outlets -- Jon Alter notwithstanding -- finally say as much. Still, it's more than a little irritating that, [a] not only is the press getting wise to this fact almost three weeks after it became patently obvious, but [b] when they finally do, the story isn't "the race is over" but "look, the press is covering the race like it's not over." Please, quit the collective navel-gazing and do your jobs, people.

Update: TPM's Josh Marshall has his own moment of clarity...sort of. "The obstacles in the way of Hillary Clinton are virtually insurmountable...Everyone in the press, probably including us, should be much more candid about that." "Probably"? Oh, good grief.