Here in Indiana, there is a lot of excitement over the Presidential primaries, because for the first time in a very long time, Indiana will play a role in deciding the Democratic nominee for President.

We vote on May 6th, along with my parents in North Carolina. Hank and Katherine, out in Montana, don't vote till June. To hear Senator Clinton tell it, Hank and Katherine will matter, too. I'm all for the Green family having a say in this election. But Indiana and North Carolina and Montana shouldn't matter.

The race was fair, and it is over. Senator Clinton will not win enough delegates to tie or overtake Senator Obama, no matter what happens in the states yet to vote. Clinton's campaign has emphasized how close the race has been (and it has been very close), but there comes a time at which the race--despite having been close--is over. We've been there since Texas and Ohio voted. I have supported Obama throughout this campaign, and if he were in Senator Clinton's position, I would be very disappointed. But I would still want him to bow out.

Many of my friends support Clinton (and a few work full-time for her campaign). I know how hard it is when a candidate you deeply believe in loses a close election. But if we examine the main arguments coming out of the Clinton campaign, none really holds up:

1. "The superdelegates might break for Clinton even though Obama will have a lead in pledged delegates." This is ridiculous, and everyone in the Democratic party knows it.

But if Obama were to become utterly unelectable for some reason between now and the convention, the superdelegates could STILL break for Clinton and give her the nomination, even if she suspended her campaign.

2. "The race is very close." True, but the few remaining contests cannot change the outcome. They might make it slightly closer (although I think not), but so what?

3. "The decision to keep running is a deeply personal decision." Oh, hooey. (The ostensibly neutral) Howard Dean had this to say today: "Nobody tells you when to get in, and nobody tells you when to get out. That's about the most personal decision you can make..."

Except it is not a personal decision. It's not about you. It's about the war in Iraq and climate change and the world economy. It's about issues bigger than Sen. Clinton, and bigger than the Democratic party, and bigger in fact than the United States.

Now, many people believe that Clinton is self-centered and disingenuous. Some will say she's continuing because she thinks the election is about her. I disagree. I believe, in fact, the opposite: She is continuing because she knows the race is about more than her, and because she believes she is better-equipped to lead the United States than her remaining opponents. She's staying because of those issues that are bigger than her, because it's not a personal decision.

I admire that, but from here on out, Senator Clinton's campaign will not bring us closer to the America she envisions.

And in my opinion, that's when you have to hang it up. But maybe I'm wrong. let me know in comments.

Those of you who yearn for the bygone days of the Brotherhood 2.0 Scavenger Hunt (or are looking forward to the release of my new book Paper Towns) should check out omnictionary.com, a new site Hank and I have been working on. (Click on "Major Facts" to get started; if you poke around long enough, you'll find the answer to that question people keep asking.) If you find the Easter Egg, feel free to discuss in comments (I hope you think it's as awesome as I do!), but please don't spoil the hunt for others.

(To answer the question that will be asked the most: Yes, Paper Towns will have two different covers! Cool, huh?)

I know exactly two words of German: sitzpinkler and spiegel.*

So I cannot say this is true with any authority, but apparently Looking for Alaska (aka Eine Wie Alaska) has been nominated for two prestigious awards in Germany. I am of course thrilled about this, and honored to be nominated alongside people like Kevin Brooks, David Levithan, and Rachel Cohn**.

But for the last day or so, I've been thinking: To what extent am I responsible for this very pleasant turn of events? I wrote the book, but it never would have received critical attention if it hadn't been so well translated by Sophie Zeitz. (I don't know Ms. Zeitz, but I already like her, since she obviously made me good in German, and also because I believe that surnames can never have too many z's.)

And for that matter, Eine Wie Alaska would never have existed if my German publisher, Hanser, hadn't been excited about the book, or if the scouts who brought it to them hadn't recommended it.

This reminds me once again that as much as we love the image of the rogue author sitting alone in her basement sweating over a keyboard, the contemporary novel is collaborative at its very core. My story. Julie's suggestions. Sophie's words. Hanser's book. The thing does not belong to any one of us. But that's a good thing: The work benefits so much from collaboration, and anyway, it's always more fun to share in good fortune***.


*The former is in An Abundance of Katherines; the latter will become clear when Paper Towns comes out.
** I'm sure many of the other nominated authors are great also, but I don't know for sure, because so few European books are published in the United States, which is just another symptom of Why We Aren't Doing So Well, but anyway.)
*** I mean, except when you're winning the lottery. Then you want to hog it all.

1. The federal government shows again that they can be trusted with our money, so long as it is spent on defense, with their plan to save World of Warcraft from the terrorists. (Really.)

2. Everyone is so upset about Geraldine Ferraro's bafflingly stupid argument, "If Obama was a white man, he wouldn't be in this position." (Because, like, you know, white men have traditionally fared so poorly in American elections.) Anyway, everyone's outraged about the content of the remark, but where is the outrage about Geraldine Ferraro's terrible grammar?

3. Over at nerdfighters.com, many interesting things are happening. (I don't know why I even bother to mention that, since more people visit nerdfighters.com a day than visit this blog in a year). Anyway, in my next video, I believe I'm going to show the cover(s?!?!?!) of PAPER TOWNS.

Everyone keeps talking about how awful it is that Eliot Spitzer apparently broke the law repeatedly by paying a lot of money to prostitutes. And it is awful, definitely. Many questions are still unanswered, but perhaps the most important is this:

When did Eliot Spitzer's teeth fall out?



Did they fall out as a result of hiring prostitutes? (Let that be a lesson to you! Do not hire prostitutes! You only get one set of teeth, after all!)

Related: Lindsay points out that Fred Armisen will be the next governor of New York.

"The Depew Board of Education voted, 6-0, Tuesday to approve a controversial coming-of- age novel for 11th-grade Regents English classes."

I'm linking to that story in the Buffalo News because I thought it was so well-written and so fair. I have to say that I've never encountered a newspaper that handled a book challenge issue with such thoughtfulness and thoroughness before; when she read the first story they wrote, Sarah said it was "inspiringly fair." I feel the same way, and thanks to the paper for its excellent reporting.

Thanks also to all the members of the Depew School Board, particularly Board President Steven Carmina. Their commitment to the teachers in the students in the district is apparent (and I would feel that way whether they voted for the book or against it).

And finally, thanks to the many, many kids at Depew High School who went to school board meetings and got involved as participants in the educational process. You guys are pretty much made of awesome.