How can Hillary Clinton possibly think she will be Obama's running mate?

She certainly doesn't lack nerve.

Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions are on the edge of the abyss and she says now that she would be "open" to being Barack Obama's running mate.

Hillary Rodham Clinton told colleagues Tuesday she would consider joining Barack Obama as his running mate, and advisers said she was withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket.

On a conference call with other New York lawmakers, Clinton, a New York senator, said she was willing to become Obama's vice presidential nominee if it would help Democrats win the White House, according to a participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to speak for Clinton.

Clinton's remarks came in response to a question from Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who said she believed the best way for Obama to win key voting blocs, including Hispanics, would be for him to choose Clinton as his running mate.

"I am open to it," Clinton replied, if it would help the party's prospects in November.

Wow. How noble. How selfless.

But as endearing as her offer to join the ticket is, Clinton is fooling herself if she really thinks she has a shot at VP. Obama would be crazy to go for this.

Not to break the hearts of die-hard Hillary supporters out there, but that ship sailed the day she decided to hurl the Kitchen Sink at Obama. The time to think about being his vice president was before she started writing the RNC's general election attack ads for them.*

The RNC posted the video on YouTube early Tuesday afternoon, just as Obama was on the verge of locking up the Democratic nomination and speculation heated up about Clinton being his running mate.

Tonight, South Dakota and Montana Democrats hold the final two contests of the primary season. Obama is expected to secure the support of enough delegates to claim the party’s presidential nomination as early as tonight, and but no later than the end of this week.

An RNC official tells CNN to expect to see more of Republicans highlighting Clinton’s critical comments of Obama as the campaign now turns to the general election phase.

“We will use it repeatedly,” the official said.

I'm not saying Hillary has no chance of running for Vice President this year, but it won't happen on the Democratic ticket. There is no way she can be Obama's running mate after spending a good portion of the primary campaign comparing him unfavorably to the Republican nominee. What is she even thinking?

No, Hillary Clinton's only shot at getting within a heartbeat of the presidency is if her good buddy John McCain brings her along with him. And he might go for it. She's been pretty helpful to the GOP thus far, so maybe they'll let her see it through.

*_{CNN attributes the video clip to the RNC, but on YouTube, it is attributed to a user identified as DemsOnObama. The RNC has its own YouTube channel, but the video does not appear there}