Sen. Hillary Clinton's road to the White House by steam rolling Barack Obama is causing some Democrats to question if her bruising campaign strategy will further alienate black voters and result in an irreversible racial divide within the party.

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the most powerful African-American in Congress, said if Obama's black supporters believe that Clinton has somehow reversed the will of the people and circumvented the political process by cutting back-door deals with super-delegates who could decide the nomination, "the damage is going to be irreparable."

Last week, Clyburn, House Majority Whip, also scolded former president Bill Clinton for comments many feel have been racially polarizing. "There are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can't win this," Clyburn told reporters. "But they're hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win."

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said that either Clinton or Obama must drop out of the race after the June primaries in order to unify the party by the convention in November. Polls show a dead heat in Indiana and Obama leading in North Carolina heading into the May 6 primaries.

Aides to Obama say Clinton cannot surpass Obama in pledged delegates and said the further Clinton gets behind, the more negative her campaign becomes. Obama leads Clinton in the delegate count, 1724-1589.

There are also signs that Clinton's beat-down campaign strategy may not appeal to prominent donors. An increasing number of Clinton's early financial supporters have bolted from Clinton and suddenly shifted to Obama, but no large Obama donors have joined Clinton's campaign, according to campaign finance reports.

Many black Democrats are frustrated, saying they believe Clinton "will do anything" to get elected, including challenging Obama's integrity and tearing apart the party in the process. Some say Clinton has taken black voters for granted and has given the impression that she is the natural heir to the presidency and that somehow Obama has gotten in her way.

That sort of talk is becoming more prevalent among black voters in the nation's offices, barber shops, grocery stores, beauty salons and places of worship. One constant refrain from black folks: "If Clinton steals the nomination, I'm not voting for her."

The Clintons, who have long enjoyed tremendous support from African Americans, have taken a hard fall from grace in the black community since Bill Clinton was once referred to as "America's first black president."

Today, Congressman Clyburn is scolding Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton's support among African American voters is seriously eroding day by day, primary by primary, as large numbers of black voters have joined the Obama bandwagon and spilt the Congressional Black Caucus almost evenly. Last month, Hillary Clinton was forced to apologize to black voters for perceived racial comments Bill Clinton has made during the course of the campaign.

Clinton's meltdown with the black electorate comes as many Americans now say Clinton is not "honest and trustworthy," according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. "Nearly six in 10 said in the new poll that she is not honest and trustworthy. And now, compared with Obama, Clinton has a deep trust deficit among Democrats," The Washington Post reported this month.

As the next primary battleground moves to North Carolina May 6, Obama picked up two important endorsements from North Carolina super-delegates U.S. Reps. Mel Watt and David Price. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a loyal and outspoken Clinton supporter, was in North Carolina recently stumping for Hillary Clinton alongside Bill Clinton, who now says the Obama campaign "played the race card on me."

With each perceived misguided statement, many black voters say they have come to this unfortunate conclusion: The Clinton's will not travel the high road to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.