While the Obama campaign and others in the Democratic Party are treading lightly and trying not to say flat out that it's time for you to end your quest for the presidency, I'm not going to mince words.

You've run an impressive campaign over the last few weeks, especially in Pennsylvania, where you scored a decisive victory.

Had you knocked Sen. Barack Obama on the ropes by performing strongly in North Carolina and winning big in Indiana, there would be every reason to further consider your argument that Obama was severely weakened by his connection with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and was unelectable. Instead, to be blunt, Obama scored a TKO.

Coming out of the worst three weeks of his campaign, he not only far exceeded the polling leading up to North Carolina and Indiana, but voters showed a new burst of confidence in him that will now carry him to the nomination.

You may say that you won't exit the race until there is a nominee.

That would seem to be saying that any candidate in any past election who read the numbers and concluded that it was best to go out with grace was somehow weak.

But candidates drop out of races all the time before their party officially has a nominee. It's not a matter of weakness, it's a matter of exiting with dignity, and not seeming to claw and cling to your quest like it was an ego trip.

Here's what you need to take a deep look at - and consider.

How do you want to be remembered? Your legacy and your husband's will be forever tarnished if you continue to run a campaign which argues that Obama is not electable, and uses Sen. John McCain's talking points to prove it.

Your husband will no longer be remembered as America's first "black president," but as part of the cabal that took down America's best shot at an actual African-American president.

You'll be remembered as the woman who was more interested in staying on the stage too long, to get a few more seconds of the spotlight than helping elect a president who has much more in common with you than the Republican nominee. From Harlem to the Senate floor, that kind of legacy will cast a dark, cold shadow on you, forever.

Everyone understands how painful it must be to have your campaign thwarted by such a newcomer to the political scene. It hurts even more knowing that for months you ran a terrible campaign, courtesy of uber-consultant Mark Penn, and just seemed to be finding your stride when it was too late.

But the fact is that it's too little, too late. The math is against you, and trusted friends like former Sen. George McGovern and former Democratic Chairman Joe Andrews have made it clear they can no longer stand with you, just as the majority of primary voters aren't with you.

You can still win West Virginia, Kentucky and Puerto Rico, sure. But what does that really get you? Certainly not the nomination. And that's the only thing that should matter. *

Check out Flavia's blog, CitizenHunter, at www.citizenhunter.com. And watch her on the "Early Show" on CBS3 on Tuesday, 7-9 a.m., where she's starting a regular gig. She'll be reporting on local singing sensation Timmy Kelly.