Hillary Clinton's Hopes for the Presidency Are Wrecked by Decisive North Carolina Loss & Indiana Squeaker

Hillary Clinton's chances to win the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination were dashed last night by Barack Obama's decisive victory in North Carolina and his near-victory in Indiana. Clinton was crushed in North Carolina, garnering only 42% of the vote to Obama's 56%, while she hung on to a narrow victory in the Hoosier State, beating Obama by less than 25,000 votes out of the approximately 1.25 million votes cast in the primary.

Clinton had claimed victory in Indiana after 85% of the precincts had reported, with her leading 52% to 48%. She was defiant, and in her victory speech, she said that she was heading "full-speed on to the White House." Away from the news cameras and the crowds, she apparently had seen the handwriting on the wall as she canceled her planned appearances on network television shows for Wednesday morning. She also canceled her personal appearances. Her poor showing in North Carolina and the squeaker in Indiana has effectively terminated her candidacy and left Barack Obama as the nominee-presumptive of the Democratic Party.

According to CNN analyst Carl Bernstein, Hillary Clinton is running out of friends in the Democratic Party. If she continues to wage trench warfare against Obama, heavyweights in the Party will "shut her down." CNN analyst David Gergen believes that there will be a movement among superdelegates to Obama in the week ahead.

"I think the nomination is almost within his grasp, now," Gergen said.