It would appear that Hillary Clinton's days as a major figure in the Democratic Party are long gone. 

This is suggested by the events that occurred just before and just after President Joe Biden officially announced that he will not seek reelection.

What these events show is Clinton making a rather desperate attempt to grab some power within the Democratic Party.

The events also show the true leaders of the Democratic Party - such as former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) - smacking Clinton down.

Clinton's power grab

The interesting sequence of events took place just before Biden decided to put out the notice saying that he would not run again.

Earlier in the week, reports were released indicating that Obama had changed his mind about supporting Biden's reelection. The reports revealed that Obama was essentially encouraging Biden to call it quits.

After that, it became very clear - given Obama's sway in the Democratic Party - that Biden's days were numbered. And, indeed, less than a week passed before Biden called off his reelection campaign.

It was just before Biden did so that Clinton made her first power grab. She actually contradicted Obama by coming out in support of Biden. Not only that, but, at about the same time that she did so, a Clinton lackey published an article arguing that Clinton ought to replace Biden as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

The timing of all of this is crucial. Clinton only came to Biden's aid after Obama turned against Biden, suggesting that, unlike Obama, Clinton does not have much sway in the Democratic Party. This is further evidenced by the fact that, as soon as Clinton came to Biden's defense, Biden dropped out of the running. Obviously, if Biden was able to ward off calls for him to drop out, then Clinton would have gained favor - and perhaps influence - with Biden and the White House.

There's more

This, however, was not the end of Clinton's power grab. She continued the power grab immediately after Biden dropped out of the running by becoming one of the first Democrats to publicly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden on the Democrats' ticket.

This, once again, proves that Clinton is not among the Democratic Party's leaders, and it proves that she is making a power grab.

In contrast to Clinton, the party's true leaders - such as Obama and Pelosi - have not endorsed Harris. In fact, Obama even snubbed Harris by writing, "I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges."

Clinton obviously believes that endorsing Harris is a way for her to gain some influence in the Democratic Party. If the party does eventually choose Harris as its nominee, then at least Clinton could claim that she was there for Harris from the beginning, while Clinton could remind Harris that the party's leaders were not.

Time will tell whether Clinton's power grab is successful or whether her days as a Democratic Party leader are over for good.