“You’ve identified the problem: helping Hildabeast get the nomination doesn’t get rid of Obama, it simply moves him to the VP slot and, eventually, back into another White House run as an incumbant. I don’t see any upside to that.”
Who’s helping her? I don’t think anyone on the right has any such intention. Merely prolonging her agony.
She was helped TREMENDOUSLY by these wins. Not in terms of delegates, mind you, but in terms of her ability to wield back-room power, especially on the superdelegates.
Two main things she got out of this little stunt was the ability to (1) argue (with the supers) that Obama can't win the big states, therefore they better stick with her at the top if they want to win the general election (IOW, she now has a better foundation for arguing Electoral College math, while Obama argues delegate math); and (2) that she deserves a redo in MI and FL.
This wasn't about delegates. That was settled long ago. This was about her street cred and her ability to pound on the table in the smokey backroom.
She got a BIG-TIME boost in that department, thanks to these wins.
For example, this just in from the WaPO:
As a newly confident Clinton (N.Y.) publicly entertained the idea of Obama (Ill.) running as her vice presidential nominee, advisers sketched out a new scenario for overcoming Obama's delegate lead: a Clinton win in the Pennsylvania primary in April and then persuading the more than 300 uncommitted superdelegates who are poised to decide the race that she would be the stronger general-election nominee.