So many folks, myself included, have agonized over the question of why Hillary Clinton continues on with her fight for the party’s nomination against what appear to be insurmountable obstacles.  She’s behind in every “metric,” the new buzz word in political analysis this week, and there just isn’t enough distance left in the race for her to catch up.  Or so it seems.

I’ve been giving this a lot of thought from every angle I could conceive of, and was about to conclude I just didn’t know, when it suddenly came to me.  The problem was as a result of my age, the generation of which I am a member, the same generation as all of those political pundits on the cable news shows.  We were born too soon, graduated from high school too soon, to have had the benefit of advances in public education.  Back then, 2 + 2 =4, and we all knew that, or else we didn’t pass to the next grade, and certainly didn’t graduate.  Back then, there were, in fact, winners and losers.  Not everyone got medals and awards, and not everyone finished first.  It is through those eyes, and with old school public education, that we have been looking at this primary race between Clinton and Barack Obama.

Things have changed.  The “New Math” has replaced what we were taught.  The notion that “everyone is a winner” has replaced the “well, you gave it a good shot” concept.  Coddling precious little snowflakes so as not to upset their feelings has replaced the responsibility of preparing our children to be adults in the world as it is.  Two plus two, now, is “around four,” and everyone gets a medal just for waking up in the morning. That is what we have become, and I simply forgot that.

When I replaced my bifocals with those glasses, and took a hard look at the Democratic primary battle, everything came into focus.  Now, that Hillary is a smart cookie, and she’s kept pace with advancements in education and child-rearing philosophy.  I give her credit for that, and everyone else should, too.  It all makes sense now, and everything is illuminated.  Delegate count?  “Around the number needed.”  Popular vote count?  “Around what Obama has.”  Super delegate count?  “Pretty much what the other guy has.”  And with this new fangled philosophy of “everyone’s a winner,” she can’t lose, either.

I’ve always believed that everything was math.  No matter what the issue, no matter what the question, it was all math.  It explained everything.  My mistake this year was that I forgot the “New Math.” I was looking at this political battle from an old math perspective, and that’s why I was stumped.  That’s why everyone else is stumped, too.

Once again, order has been established and everything is in its place.  It’s the “New Math” now, and that’s why Hillary is still in this thing.  She can’t lose.