Despite Sen. Hillary Clinton's solid victory in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, her chances of winning the nomination must still be considered remote. The Democratic primary campaign is thus moving into a final and potentially dicey stage that will require the full range of skills possessed by Sen. Barack Obama and his campaign.
The task at hand for Mr. Obama is as simple to define as it will be tough to execute: He must deftly manage Mrs. Clinton's departure from the race. To borrow a line from Joe Klein's Bill Clinton-inspired fictional presidential candidate in Primary Colors, it has to be handled just right. Mr. Obama's electoral fate this November depends on it. Unfortunately for him, Mrs. Clinton's achievement this week, and the modicum of momentum she is likely to gain from it, will make this an even more difficult challenge.
After the exhilarating and sometimes frustrating spectacle of the protracted battle between the two Democrats, it's hard to believe we have reached this point. A year ago - heck, even five months ago - Mrs. Clinton's nomination was generally viewed as certain. Compounding the jarring effect of her transformation from inevitable winner into underachieving runner-up is the lost opportunity of her nomination as a potentially historic moment.
