Parting Shot

She needed a knockout blow. She didn’t get it.

He needed a knockout blow. And he did get it. At least, almost.

Look at it one way: It’s a split decision. Barack Obama, as expected, won North Carolina — but by a much larger margin than expected, given his recent rocky ride with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Hillary Clinton, as expected, won Indiana — but by a much more narrow margin than she wanted — or needed.

But look at it another way: It was a decisive win for Barack Obama and a disappointing showing for Hillary Clinton. To change the game, she either had to win both states, or win handily in Indiana and come close in North Carolina. She did neither.

By winning Indiana, even closely, Hillary won the right to continue her campaign through the remaining primaries, if she wants to. But the odds of her prevailing in the end now are slim to none. And it’s going to be even tougher to convince superdelegates they should stick with her and not jump on the Obama bandwagon.

Democrats have been wanting a long time, many impatiently, many prematurely, to get this primary over with. For all practical purposes, it just ended.

However much longer it takes before it’s official, we know today that Barack Obama will be the Democratic Party nominee.

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