For the Record: Hey-hey, it’s time to say goodbye

Bernie Sanders is moving full speed ahead despite Hillary Clinton securing the number of delegates needed to get the Democratic nomination on Tuesday. The Vermont senator will meet with President Obama on Thursday to have a little chit-chat about what’s going on with the campaign. But there’s increasing pressure for him to step aside and give up the fight against Clinton, who is the first woman to clinch a major-party nod — even by his own surrogates.

It's a bad sign when you've lost Mark Ruffalo

Some of Sanders' supporters are quietly saying let’s give it up before things get embarrassing. On Wednesday, two of his superdelegates and supporters — Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva —told The Washington Post that Clinton won and that the whole flipping delegates thing was so two days ago. Literally, two days ago, Sanders said his team was on the phone trying to get superdelegates to come to his side.

Merkley told The Washington Post: “I would not support a battle that involves trying to flip superdelegates.”

Even actor Mark Ruffalo — who has been all over the campaign trail for Sanders — said it was time to call it quits on the race for the White House. He congratulated Clinton on her history-making win, but he said there was still a role for Sanders supporters: moving forward with progressive values.

Clinton’s Republican grab

The former secretary of State’s campaign is hosting a website dedicated to getting the voter data of Republicans who are saying no thanks to Donald Trump. And that number could grow if he keeps up with criticizing Judge Gonzalo Curiel (on Tuesday Sen. Mark Kirk unendorsed him). The website has a petition for GOPers to sign in exchange for a "Republicans Against Trump” sticker.” It says: “Donald Trump is not qualified to be president. He does not represent my beliefs as a Republican and, more importantly, my values as an American. He does not speak for me and I will not vote for him.”

To new beginnings: Donald Trump and the teleprompter

Two weeks ago — when Clinton used it — Trump hated the teleprompter. He made fun of the way she read and the fact that she used one in general. But after a series of gaffes and a whole lotta criticism from his party, Trump tried something new — a teleprompter. The presumptive Republican nominee used one on Tuesday. While this race has proved to be completely and totally unpredictable, his speech Tuesday and subsequent quietness on Wednesday maybe, possibly, potentially could signal a new chapter in his campaign. Disclaimer: Take that with a giant grain of salt — like a block of it.

Trump has some very presidential with a capital “P” things coming up: He has a speech at the Faith & Freedom Coalition on Friday and fundraisers and rallies in key states. He will also be evaluating who he’s going to pick as his running mate — someone he says should have political experience. And on Wednesday he told Bloomberg Politics that one of the people he was considering was an ex-rival who hadn’t endorsed him yet, so you know, good luck with that.

More from the campaign trail

• Koch's team to meet Trump's camp, but industrialist remains skeptical (Paste BN)
• Clinton’s win Tuesday followed a lot of other female politicians who blazed the trail before her (Paste BN)
• Steve Chabot to Donald Trump: 'Settle the damn case' (Cincinnati Enquirer)
• Aide: Obama won't endorse before Sanders meeting on Thursday (Paste BN)

Want to do the election your way? Paste BN has you covered. 

Paste BN has created a new Race to the White House interactive graphic and you can map out the path all the way to 270 electoral votes. A few possible scenarios are offered, but if you think something seems off (because hey, this election hasn't gone according to plan at all) you can switch the states. There's also a You Decide map, which starts with only the "safe Democratic" and "safe Republican" states colored in, and you pick the rest based on your analysis of the swing states. Then share your results on social media so you can have bragging rights when the final map in November matches your predictions.