Yeah, yeah, Hillary’s eye spigot is dripping again.

Reader Ryan wants us not to get distracted from one of the real reasons Hillary Clinton should be crying tonight–the loss of today’s three Democrat presidential contests in Louisiana, Washington, and Nebraska to Barack Obama. Ryan’s conclusion: It’s the incompetence, stupid.

I’m sure you’ve seen this excuse-making from the Clinton campaign:

Tonight there are contests in three states that the Obama campaign has long predicted they would win by large margins. According to a spreadsheet that was obtained by Bloomberg News, the Obama campaign predicted big victories in Washington State, Nebraska and Louisiana.

The Obama campaign has dramatically outspent our campaign in these three states, saturating the airwaves with 30 and 60 second ads. The Obama campaign has spent $300,000 more in Louisiana on television ads, $190,000 more in Nebraska and $175,000 more in Washington…

Let’s put this in perspective:

During Clinton’s 2006 Senate race, several high-ranking aides voiced concerns about loose financial controls over such things as office supplies and advertising. The current campaign appears to be run more frugally, with headquarters in Virginia rather than on K Street. But the campaign’s latest reports still show unusual expenditures, such as nearly $500,000 last year for parking costs. A review of both campaigns’ financial filings show they aggressively spent money last year. Both spent more than $80 million before heading into the January primary season, including similar amounts on travel and events. Obama spent more on television advertising and field staff. Clinton spent nearly $4 million on political and media consultants; Obama spent about $1.4 million.

So, they’re saying that they would have performed better in those states if they hadn’t blown $500K on parking. (how on earth did they manage to spend that much on parking anyways?) Is Brownie running their budget?

Just imagine if they weren’t dumping millions into the black hole that is Mark Penn. They might be able to open offices and hire staff in states like Virginia and Washington. But I’m sure Mark Penn is worth every penny.

While the Hill camp whines, Obama’s already busy raising a new round of funds based on today’s showing.

Yes, he can.