(CNN) The 48 hours since Bernie Sanders rolled to an across-the-board victory in the Nevada caucuses have been filled with skittish Democratic establishment types coming to this realization: Not only is stopping the Vermont democratic socialist going to be very difficult, the time may have already passed when it was even possible.

"If no one drops out by Super Tuesday, is it even possible to stop Bernie Sanders?" NBC's Chuck Todd asked former Obama White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer on Sunday. "I do not believe it is," responded Pfeiffer.

Pfeiffer is very likely right. But if there is a way to stop -- or at least slow -- Sanders, most Democratic insiders are convinced it's this: Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama get behind an alternative candidate to the Vermont senator. Not only that, but the Obamas make their endorsements soon -- like pre-Super Tuesday -- and they urge all of the other candidates to get out of the race ASAP.

Why might this work? Because the Obamas are hugely popular figures among Democrats -- especially African-Americans, who would be the first building block of any candidate trying to build a coalition to beat Sanders. Obama left office in early 2017 with 6 in 10 Americans approving of the job he did as president, and those numbers have only improved since -- as people forget what they didn't like about his presidency and remember the good times.

The problem for the anti-Sanders forces in the party? There's zero evidence to suggest that either Obama is interested in wading into the current morass in order to keep the nomination from Sanders.

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