Why would someone on her team be circulating data showing a double-digit lead when even reliable pollsters like Survey USA have it close (and others have her behind)? Is there some benefit to raising expectations that I’m missing? All it does is make it easy for the media to frame a close win as a de facto loss while giving those late deciders she’s banking on an excuse to stay home or toss a sympathy vote at Obama to keep him from getting blown out. No wonder her advisors think it’s a dirty trick. Any theories? Per that TNR piece about her disgruntled campaign staff, is this maybe an honest to goodness case of sabotage?

For that matter, who thought it’d be a good idea to book her on Olbermann’s show tonight, practically daring him to go after her and prove what a rootin’ tootin’ truth-to-power nutroots gunslinger he is? Normally I’d expect nothing less than total obsequiousness from Olby, even though he’s been demagoging her for weeks, but the chance to sandbag her on the eve of the primary and thereby forever endear himself to the left should be enough to squeeze a tough interview even out of him.

Meanwhile, none of this matters because Pelosi et al. are planning to push her out of the race in June anyway. Quote: “Another Democrat who has spoken several times with him says Mr. Gore favors Sen. Obama and has come under pressure from former supporters to endorse the Illinois senator, but has no plans to do so before the primaries end.” Could the ultimate betrayal, by BJ’s own VP, be enough to push some of those sore-loser Hillary supporters firmly into the McCain column? Byron York sees potential, but as our favorite liberal reminds us, an even greater percentage of McCain’s supporters in 2000 swore they wouldn’t vote for Bush than the percentage of Hillary’s supporters who swear they won’t vote for Obama. How’d that work out?