If the Clintons believed that Sen. Obama was going to win, I suspect they would support him fully.

If they believed that with their support he would win, they would support him fully.

If they do not believe Sen. Obama is going to win, they will hedge their bets, positioning themselves for 2012.

But why would they believe that Sen. Obama would not win?

There’s smoke rising from the Obama camp, and there’s likely a fire. We know that the press abhors Democrat fires, as illustrated by the lack of attention to the Edwards scandal. But the fire may break out. And the Clintons will not want to be scorched.

I can’t resist the conspiracy theory that Sen. Obama’s reluctance/ignoring to release his authentic birth certificate may be related to a name difference on the certificate, e.g. something like first name ‘Barry’ and not ‘Barack.’ Perhaps a small thing. But even such a small thing might send a ‘Talented Mr. Ripley’ shudder through the electorate.