This post rests on the following central ideas:

• No one can predict the future. But by almost every data source, Senator Clinton has a stronger chance of beating Senator McCain this fall than any other candidate still in the race for the Democratic nomination.
• Senator McCain is in no way a progressive. He may have successfully portrayed himself as a "maverick", he may even be a maverick in some respects, but he is a conservative Republican.
• If Democrats want to take their best shot of ending the most anti-progressive reign of government since Ronald Reagan, they should nominate Senator Clinton.

See for yourself how Senator Clinton compares to Senator McCain on just several issues:

• On Iran
• On a broad range of international issues
• On globalization and technology
• On a woman's right to choose abortion versus government regulation

As a committed progressive and a patriotic citizen, I fear for this country if Senator McCain becomes our next President. As a student of politics, I know that a Party should run its strongest candidate against the other Party's nominee. As someone familiar with the history of the development of the Republican attack machine, I know that the general election will be hard fought. None of these bits of knowledge come as shockers. So Democratic Party, this is very easy to understand: want a progressive and a Democrat in the White House as of 2009? Nominate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as your candidate.