Reality rains on Hillary's parade

While Hillary Clinton is already talking about Barack Obama as nothing more than a potential vice presidential running-mate, the bleary results from last night are belatedly coming into focus, and not entirely to her benefit. Consider the following:

1. The indispensible Burnt Orange Report out of Texas finds that Obama, not Clinton, won more delegates in the Lone Star State -- by as much as five (by the Obama campaign's count) or no less than three (by Burnt Orange's count);
2. Chuck Todd of MSNBC points out that mathematically, with the big states of Ohio and Texas out of the way, Clinton now can't catch Obama in the pledged delegate race;
3. Regular Daily Kos poster thereisnospoon notes the myriad ways in which Obama remains far ahead of Clinton in the overall race -- winning 27 states to her 14, winning the overall popular vote, winning more pledged delegates, performing better against McCain in national polls, et al.
4. Jonathan Alter of Newsweek crunches the numbers and shows that Clinton is how farther behind than the last time he ran them on Monday.

Now, there is little question in my mind that the Obama campaign has been coasting a bit too much, and playing it a little bit too safely. And there is no reason for Obama partisans to be overconfident, given that Clinton has demonstrated her willingness to stay in the race no matter what the mathematical realities and no matter how much her words benefit John McCain.

I just don't think things are half so bleak for Obama as the media coverage last night might have led one to believe.

And of course, 24 hours after the results came in, NAFTAgate turns out to have been a hoax. Nice timing.