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Looking ahead to the fall:
The Indiana and North Carolina results followed the pattern of previous Obama-Clinton contests. Clinton carried the votes of white women in both states, while Obama won men in North Carolina and split them with Clinton in Indiana. Obama won younger voters, while Clinton carried the backing of older voters. Clinton won whites; Obama won blacks.
The Clinton-Obama campaign has deeply divided the Democratic Party along racial lines. Obama's claim to be running a post-partisan race is absurd, and these cleavages show that he is perceived --within his own party-- as being an identity politics candidate. In the McCain-Obama contest, the candidate of the center will be John McCain, and the key issue will be leadership for all Americans, not just those on the far left edge of the Democratic Party.
As noted below, however, with a candidate as incompletely vetted as Obama and a Rezko decision due within weeks, Hillary should go on to her wins in West Virginia and Kentucky and then wait upon events. Right through the first ballot in Denver. We wouldn't want a president who folded easily, would we?
"Her desperate hope is then to persuade the superdelegates to overturn the will of the pledged delegates and make her the Democratic nominee," writes Roger Simon at Politico.com. "To achieve this, she needs momentum, spin and fear."
On to spin and fear!
UPDATE: Betsy's Page urges Hillary to fight on!
For the children, Mrs. Clinton. For the children.
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