What to say in WV and KY: Vote Democratic!

Obama is doing a good job of setting expectations in WV and KY, saying today that Clinton's lead in those states is "insurmountable." But he does have to go campaign there, and it's always a little bit awkward to try to exhort folks to vote for you when you have already admitted you're not going to win. Why not make the general election shift now, and change the target? The new goal is maximizing Democratic turnout.

What Obama should say in West Virginia this weekend is that he wants to encourage all Democrats, no matter who they support in the primary, to come out in force to demonstrate their united determination to elect a Democrat in November.

Something like this:

Of course I would like your support. But regardless of whether you support Senator Clinton or me, what's important here is to send a clear message to Senator McCain and President Bush: that West Virginia stands with North Carolina and Indiana and Virginia and, yes, Pennsylvania, where all across this country in primary after primary, and caucus after caucus, voters have been breaking records, doubling, tripling and quadrupling the records, to vote on the Democratic side of the ledger. We are rebuilding this party and forming new coalitions to change America. Let's put to rest the idea that Democrats can't unite, that we can't come together to set a new course. Our goal is to (double? triple? somebody who can do the numbers should insert a reachable but impressive goal here) the number of voters who participated in the 2004 primaries. Let's show the Senator McCain what real change looks like!

When you see the parade marching without you, you get in front of it. Make the turnout a success story for you. What's Senator Clinton supposed to say against this relentlessly positive and selfless message? "No, we are still divided"? "No, don't come out unless you vote for me"?