The Discerning Texan

So what's different now that Indiana and North Carolina have had their say? Not all that much. Whether it's Reverend Wright or concerns over his considerable lack of qualifications for the job, he has become a candidate who mostly wins states with unusually large black populations, or red states where there are few blacks. On the other hand, in Indiana it was a nail-biter, so Hillary didn't come up with the story changer that would have cut the legs out from under Barack. It's keep on keeping on time for this process.

In the string of the final six contests, Hillary's storyline could get a boost. With the exception of Oregon, she has a good shot at winning all of the upcoming contests. Her plans are unchanged -- she's going all the way to the convention.

If only the party knew enough to be proud of her. Through the grueling ordeal of personal attacks, money problems and disdain from the media, Hillary has handled the frustration of going from the ordained candidate to the discarded with remarkable agility. You may not like her, but it sure is tough not to admire her fortitude -- this woman keeps her eye on the horizon. Plus, she seems impossible to defeat.

And guess what? These are all good things.

If she, instead of Obama, were the fantasy candidate, Hollywood would already have a script in development on Hillary's campaign and life: The Greatest American (Woman) it might be called. (Barry Gibb would write the soundtrack, Streisand and Diddy would sing, Denzel would play Barack while Alec Baldwin would play Bill Clinton, and it would be as doomed a project as is the Obama candidacy, so they'd be loving it.) But this is a story that Democrats don't like, so no one's going to option the script.

While Hillary's performance this year can be likened to watching a 15 round heavy weight title fight with all its grueling punishment and plot changes, the relationship between voters and Barack seems to evolve more like a love affair, with all the overtones of irrationality and emotion the analogy suggests.

When Obama walks in the room the first time, heads turn, hearts beat faster, the lust-o-meter hits the upper limits. Yes we need judgment; Yes we need Hope, Yes We Can!

Over the short term, he wears well. He's smart, he's fair, he's decent, and it sure seems as if he's honest. A pretty special guy. It looks, remarkably, like Barack is the real deal.

Then we start to meet his friends, family and business associates, and we get a creepy vibe. Those aren't people I'd surround myself with, we say to ourselves. The guy makes lots of excuses, says he understands how we feel, but he just can't walk away from those bad kids he grew up with politically.

The glow of perfection devolves, as surely it must, when Obama faces the test of time. Intelligence starts to read as arrogance, eloquence gives way to stammering and words too carefully chosen, and the true life story, we learn, doesn't quite match the sales pitch. A sinking feeling sets in, one that says this was an attraction driven by the irrational exuberance of lust instead of true love.

That's how the Democratic nomination is playing out, with the two candidates on opposite trajectories -- Hillary getting better with time, Barack looking worse. Who'd have thunk it?

Take a look at the Pew Research Poll from last week. The national trends are shocking. In March, Barack was tied with Hillary among white voters who are Democrats or lean that way. Now he is down sixteen!

With working class whites, the gap is more devastating. Hillary's ten point advantage from March is now at forty! These trends continued in Tuesday's vote. This is no joke -- it represents an electability crisis.

Barack has become a niche candidate. If you're black, rich or went to an Ivy League school, then you're definitely in his camp. College professors love him. College kids love him. People who wax nostalgic for the good old days of blowing up buildings would swear off ammonium nitrate forever to see him win. And there are many who miss the explosive sixties, just not enough of them to make Barack into a viable general election candidate.

But with other groups that we're told are key Obama constituencies, the numbers are also sobering. Barack's six point lead among those making more than $50,000 per year has become a five point deficit. The college educated, a critical base of support, only favor him by five.