Deny, Deny, Deny...

...the inevitable.

The Game Changer

Hillary Clinton called North Carolina a "game changer" in the race for the Democratic nomination, but I don't think this is what she had in mind. Barack Obama had taken North Carolina 56%-42%, after major barnstorming by Bill Clinton this past week. Some reports say he's done 100 stump speeches in the last two weeks in the Tarheel State.

And in Indiana, where Clinton was expected to win by double digits, the race is too close to call with 95% of the vote in and Obama down by about 16,000 votes!

The Clinton scenario to move on was a blowout in Indiana and to make it close in North Carolina. The exact opposite has happened. How is her campaign going to spin this one? Clinton has also cancelled all morning show appearances that were scheduled tomorrow.

UPDATE (1:10am): With 99% reporting, MSNBC has delcared Clinton the winner in Indiana.

The numbers:

Clinton: 637,389 - 51%

Obama: 615,370 - 49%

According to MSNBC's Chuck Todd, Obama has erased Clinton's gain in her Pennsylvania win, extended his delegate lead by 160+ and has extended his popular vote lead to 700,000+. No matter how they try to slice it, the Clinton campaign is running out of ways to fudge the numbers. I'll be expecting the undeclared superdelegates to start flooding toward Obama.

Superdelegate Joe Andrew Flips To Obama!

Here comes the avalanche! Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew of Indiana has flipped his endorsement of Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama.

"This has got to come to an end," former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew told reporters in his hometown of Indianapolis just days before Tuesday's crucial state primary. He said he planned to call all the other superdelegates he knows and encourage them to back Obama.

...In a lengthy letter explaining his decision, Andrew said he is switching his support because "a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue this process, and a vote to continue this process is a vote that assists (Republican) John McCain."

"The ship is taking on water right now," Andrew said at the news conference. "We need to patch those holes, heal the rift and go forward to beat John McCain."

...Andrew said the Obama campaign never asked him to switch his support, but he decided to do so after watching Obama's handling of two issues in recent days. He said Obama took the principled stand in opposing a summer gas tax holiday that both Clinton and McCain supported, even though it would have been easier politically to back it. And he said he was impressed with Obama's handling of the controversy surrounding his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

..."He has shown such mettle under fire," Andrew said in the interview. "The Jeremiah Wright controversy just reconfirmed for me, just as the gas tax controversy confirmed for me, that he is the right candidate for our party."

That's what I'm talking about! A Democrat with... how shall I put it... "testicular fortitude."