For Political Reporters, A Never-Ending Story

After weeks of when-will-she-drop-out chatter, some journalists were anxiously awaiting Tuesday's showdown in Ohio and Texas as a chance to bid farewell to Hillary Clinton and return to something resembling normal life.

"This was it, finally," National Review columnist Jim Geraghty recalls thinking. "She's going to crack open like a pi¿ata and we'll all get to celebrate and take some time off."

But in a rerun of a very familiar movie, the media establishment was too quick to crank out the obituaries for a former first lady who keeps bouncing back against Barack Obama.

"I have an irrational hatred of Ohio," says a weary Ana Marie Cox, the Time reporter and blogger, reached while shopping for a vitamin booster at Trader Joe's. "They didn't do anything but prolong the agony.

"Of course it's historic, it's amazing, I feel lucky to be covering it. But how many more stories do I have to read, or be forced to write, about when Hillary will drop out?"

This is hardly the first time that press prognosticators have forecast a Clinton exit. After her third-place finish in Iowa, many predicted that Clinton would lose New Hampshire and be forced to withdraw. With the approach of early February's Super Tuesday -- the day everyone just knew would settle the race -- Clinton's slippage in key state polls prompted suggestions that the end was near. And after Clinton lost 10 straight states to Obama in the past month, much of the media either feasted on tales of discord in her campaign or ignored her in sizing up a fall confrontation between Obama and John McCain.

"The surest sign she's coming back is when we all say she's going over a cliff," says Slate writer John Dickerson, who wrote a piece headlined "The Conventional Wisdom Says Clinton Is Doomed. Don't Believe It" back on Feb. 11.

While some commentators are not exactly Hillary fans or have been dazzled by Obama, most say the race is now simply a matter of math -- that Clinton, after getting blown out in states from South Carolina to Wisconsin, faces an insurmountable gap in pledged delegates. "I don't think it's only because of what her supporters see as Hillary-bashing," Dickerson says. "All the sniping between her aides is a telltale sign of a campaign in distress. We're not making this up."

Many voters have tuned in only recently, but campaign reporters and analysts have been on the beat since before Clinton and Obama kicked off their candidacies back in January 2007. They originally had to chase 18 presidential candidates, and by now have covered or commented on 20 Democratic debates.

"Everyone is toasted," says NBC anchor Brian Williams, "but they just keep waking up the next morning and doing it again." Sometimes, as the correspondents and pundits ricochet from late-night coverage to early-morning duty, the fatigue starts to show.

Gene Robinson, a Washington Post columnist, says he felt "a little punchy" after holding forth as an MSNBC analyst from 5:40 p.m. until 2 a.m. yesterday, fueled only by bad election-night food. "The last hour you're on," he says, "you just kind of say something and you're running the loop back in your head: 'What did I say? Did it make much sense?' It was either deeply profound or nonsensical."

Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron says he spent part of 42 weeks on the road last year.