By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted May 12, 2008 – The question now isn’t if, but when and how Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will leave the race for the Democratic nomination. Her departure will demonstrate how well a seasoned politician can choreograph an exit.

 If Sen. Barack Obama thought she was a formidable challenger during the race, he had better be ready to play hard when it’s time for her to “negotiate” her way out of the race.

 When candidates concede races as high-profile as presidential contests, they have a great deal of bargaining  power, particularly if they’ve attracted an ocean of  core supporters. So far, Clinton has drawn more than 16 million voters.

 So the last candidate standing has to make sure their rival’s exit is done respectfully and allows the defeated candidate some dignity as they depart.

This is going to be tough because the former first lady isn’t going to make it easy for the Democratic Party or  Obama.

My guess is she’ll want some help paying off her campaign debt, some plum jobs for her senior campaign staff; and a way for her die-hard supporters, (not super-delegates) to ease on board the Obama machine.

But will Clinton endorse the Illinois senator outright?  And if so, what will she want in exchange?

I believe Clinton is hinting at a convention floor showdown for the Michigan and Flordia delgates.   The Democratic National Committee’s Rules Committee is meeting later this month, and let’s hope it comes up with a clear and clean stating on how those delegates will be seated in August.  If not, there could be a showdown in Denver. 
 
Terry McAuliffe, Clinton’s campaign  chairman, made a veiled threat on “Face the Nation” Sunday, suggesting his candidate would do just that if super-delegates don’t let remaining races play out.  “The super-delegates will wait until the end … until everybody’s voted,” he said. 

“They understand we’re in a fragile time in our party; let’s let the process finish. People need to be careful not to alienate” the Clinton supporters,” he said.

But alienating voters could be part of  Cllinton’s plan, if political consultant Dick Morris is right.  He maintains that Clinton’s goal is to damage Obama and the party enough to give Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) the victory in 2008, setting herself up for a run in 2012, where she could easily defeat the aging Republican senator.  McCain will be 76 years- old four years from now. 

“She want’s another 30 days to badger Obama,” Morris told Fox News.  Morris says Clinton is setting up “racial poloarizaton” to do so, referring to her comment to USA Today that she is more appealing to White voters.

Over the weekend Obama was able to break the stalemate of Clinton’s super-delegate lead picking up six additional endorsements.  Obama now leads Clinton in the popular vote,  pledged delegates,  and for the first time, super-delegates.

 According to the Bloomberg’s numbers, with these latest endorsements, Obama has 277 super-delegates to Clinton’s 274.5.

The remaining contests -West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota – will not bring either candidate to a different place, but it could let the Dems know how deep the divide really is in the Democratic Party.