Is It Over? Obama Wallops Clinton In North Carolina, Brings Her To Standstill In Indiana

Is it over? Has Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination for president?

Those questions from pundits and commentators after Obama's smashing (he won by about 250,000 votes) North Carolina victory over Hillary Clinton and surprising Indiana finish that remained in doubt into the night.

What is clear in the results is that Clinton's momentum is ended; she needed a solid Indiana win and a close race in North Carolina and she got neither. Obama's North Carolina win erased Clinton's early Pennsylvania win and his better-than-expected finish in Indiana makes any argument Clinton makes about electability just so much talk.

Obama's performance increased his popular vote lead over Clinton, and his delegate lead. Even if Clinton won the six remaining primaries in landslide fashion, it is obvious, she cannot catch his popular vote total. Even if the contested primaries in Michigan and Florida are thrown in, Obama apparently maintains the lead. That ends Clinton's argument that she's received more votes than Obama.

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