Hillary Clinton drew headlines today by comparing herself to Philadephia's favorite son Rocky Balboa, but I think a much more apt comparison is to "Raging Bull" Jake LaMotta.
Before he got his title shot, Rocky was squaring off against the likes of "Spider" Rico and collecting for a loan shark, while Clinton once held a 20 to 30 point lead over Obama for the nomination. The underdog role doesn't suit her well.
LaMotta, on the other hand, got beaten to a bloody pulp by Sugar Ray Robinson, had no chance to win, but refused to fall out of stubbornness, and the fight came to an end only after the ref intervened to stop it. Despite getting pummeled, a bloody LaMotta gloated to Robinson, "You never got me down, Ray." That strikes me as a better metaphor for the current state of the Clinton campaign.
A few additional notes:
— Barack Obama previously compared himself to Rocky in last fall's
Philadelphia debate that became infamous for the drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants question that was the start of the Clinton collapse. –In more bad news for Hillary, Rocky himself has endorsed McCain, and Robert De Niro, who played LaMotta, supports Obama.