DENVER - Mike "Richelieu" Murphy analyzes the landscape in Denver and concludes the PUMAs are insignificant in and of themselves, but:

What is true - and very important - is that there are a ton of Democrat leaning voters who didn't vote in the primaries, but look demographically a lot like the Hillary primary voters we've been paying all this attention to. They're older, white, often blue-collar. And many have big doubts about Barack Obama. Hillary can really hurt Obama among this crowd if she shows hostility, maybe even enough to throw the election. That's why the Obama campaign is acting like a bunch of nervous yes-men at one of Stalin's birthday parties. But Hillary is a good, tough party soldier. Her speech tonight will be very good. So will her endorsement deliver the vote Obama really needs? Nope. Obama has to earn it on his own; many are more anti-Barack than pro-Clinton. Hillary will help a little tonight with her speech and scepter wave. Then later, in the privacy of the voting booth, she will do what the smart money already knows: cast her vote for her pal John S. McCain.

Yes, the PUMA's are a small but vocal contingent, but as Murphy knows the polls show a substantial number of Hillary primary supporters unwilling to back Obama with roughly one in five or one in four saying they will back McCain. Those are not all PUMA's. They are, in fact, exactly the kind of people Murphy describes.

I agree that these folks are unlikely to be swayed by a few nice words from Hillary. Obama has to earn their vote.The question is, will he?