North Carolina and Indiana held the last two Democratic primaries large enough to meaningfully impact the numbers -- in terms of either delegates or popular vote. Not only did Clinton fail to accomplish either one, but Obama significantly increased his leads in both categories.

Tonight in Indiana, Clinton made what was, effectively, a graceful concession speech. Watching her demeanor - and that of Bill and Chelsea on the podium behind her - no one could possibly miss the fact that she now knows she cannot win the nomination.

(Perhaps someone forgot to call off the attack dogs like Howard Wolfson, who today spelled out an evermore tortured attempt to massage the numbers, but it should be clear to everyone now that there is no plausible scenario whereby Hillary can secure the nomination without fatally compromising the Democrat Party.)

Hopefully the ugly spectacle of this primary season hasn't been bad enough to tarnish Obama and obscure the fact that between him and John McCain there is absolutely no doubt about who is the better choice to be our next President. If we assume that America is still a sane and decent country, it should be safe to say that Barack Obama will be our next President. But those are two very big assumptions...