The Note: No They Can't

April 3, 2008 -- If you can place the following items in ascending order, you just might win yourself a photograph with Sen. Barack Obama (or maybe not):

- The number of people who are really on Sen. John McCain's short list.

- The number of points Sen. Hillary Clinton needs to win Pennsylvania by for it to be a "win."

- The number of superdelegates who will declare their allegiance before April 22.

- The number of words Michelle Obama and Teresa Heinz Kerry would speak to each other if not for this campaign that provided them a stage to share Wednesday.

- The number of "Rocky" references we'll hear before Philadelphians render a judgment (and we thought the number of sequels was interminable).

In case you thought there was any room left for subtlety in the race, ABC's George Stephanopoulos confirms the whispers: The Clinton message on Obama (the one that counts -- the one to superdelegates) is clear, harsh, and pretty close to irrevocable.

Stephanopoulos reported on "World News" Wednesday that Sen. Clinton told Gov. Bill Richardson flatly, "Barack Obama cannot win, Bill. Barack Obama cannot win.' "

Yet here's a wrinkle, from a source with direct knowledge of Richardson's conversations with the Clintons: Richardson himself told Sen. Clinton and former President Clinton that he didn't think Obama could win, back when he was (according to the Clintons) telling them earlier this year that he wouldn't endorse Obama. "Too inexperienced," Richardson said, the source tells ABC News.

(We should see what the March fundraising numbers have to say on this subject on Thursday.)

Clinton is taking a (much-needed) break from Obama-bashing to train her fire on McCain, her campaign recalling that her audience remains, primarily, Democrats who may grow weary of another few months of party self-destruction.

So now Clinton is dialing up McCain -- and yes, it's always 3 am in this world. "John McCain just said the government shouldn't take any real action on the housing crisis, he'd let the phone keep ringing," the new ad says.

Over at Camp Clinton, 3 am is their favorite time of day or night -- not just because they're generally still awake at that hour (sleep being the right and property of the frontrunner) but because that ringing phone reinforces her core message: She's ready.

"Could it be that the Clinton camp and the Obama camp have reached an understanding that further fire at each other will only damage the party?" The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye writes. "Is there a temporary cease-fire while they work out the status of delegates from Michigan and Florida?"

No, and no. But: "The new spot, which is the first Democratic ad to mention McCain by name, does advance two of her objectives: it keeps the focus on the economy and it allows her to tout her general-election strength in key battleground states," ABC's Teddy Davis, Talal Al-Khatib, and Jan Simmonds report.

"Clinton's decision to target McCain indicates how the Democratic candidates may be toning down their attacks on one another so as not to weaken the party ahead of the November general election," Maeve Reston and Noam Levey write in the Los Angeles Times. "But Clinton aides said the ad also reinforced their argument that the senator from New York is more electable than the senator from Illinois."

Yet the McCain campaign's dismissive response (and quick Web ad pushback) does as much to encapsulate the state of the race: "For Clinton these days," said McCain spokesman Steve Schmidt, "the call at 3:00 am is more likely, 'Senator, you just lost another superdelegate.' "

Another superdelegate endorsement on Wednesday, by Gov. Dave Freudenthal, D-Wyo., has allowed Obama to pull even with Clinton "in endorsements from top elected officials, with a surge in support from congressional freshmen and governors from Republican-dominated states," Bloomberg's Nicholas Johnston and Lorraine Woellert report.

"Obama, an Illinois senator, has the support of 99 Democratic U.S. lawmakers and governors, compared with Clinton's 96 -- a dramatic turnabout since the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, when Clinton, a New York senator, had more than double Obama's support within this group, 91 to 43."

But could there be hope yet out of Florida? Not a single detail of how, but tea-leaf readers saw a different DNC Chairman Howard Dean in a meeting with Florida's congressional delegation.

"Howard Dean said for the first time Wednesday that he will do everything he can to seat Florida's delegates at the presidential-nominating convention in Denver," Tamara Lytle writes in the Orlando Sentinel. "The Floridians said the chairman's promise to work to seat Florida's delegation was a breakthrough in the impasse that has left state Democrats wondering whether they would be left out of the August convention."

"State Democratic leaders said the pledge sets a new tone for how Florida will be treated and puts pressure on the presidential candidates to work out a compromise," Larry Lipman and Michael C. Bender write for Cox News Service. "Dean said he was so confident Florida's delegation would be seated that hotel rooms have been reserved, but he would not say where." (Why do those last six words tell us more than the preceding 17?)

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder has details on why the good doctor is so confident: "Sources close to the DNC's rules and bylaws committee say that the [Jon] Ausman challenges WILL be heard -- and that if the votes are there, some Florida delegates could be seated -- temporarily -- by the end of April. (The seating would likely be appealed to the credentials committee, but we'll cross that suspension bridge when we pay the toll for it.)"