The Long and Winding Road

"Now Hillary has to hope that the break in Obama's momentum becomes a serious stall. That both the press and the voters take a second look - and, upon further consideration, decide that rather than the shining embodiment of all that's hopeful, he's an ambitious pol spouting vacuities."

The Nation's John Nichols:

"If the Clinton campaign has learned anything from the two-week campaign that preceded the Ohio and Texas votes, it is that Hillary Clinton will not win unless Barack Obama loses. The senator from Illinois must be damaged, badly, or so the theory goes, in order for the senator from New York to grab the Democratic nomination from his clutches.

"Make no mistake: The candidate and her Clintonistas have sought to inflict that damage . . . .

"Since Clinton lost Wisconsin's February 19 primary, the hits really have kept coming. There was 'Barack stole lines from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick' hit. There was the 'Barack stole a page from Karl Rove when he sent out negative mailings' hit. There was the 'Barack dresses like a Muslim' hit. There was the 'Barack's campaign told the Canadians one thing about trade and Ohio another thing' hit. There was the 'Barack's not the guy you want answering the phone in the White House' hit. There was even the 'Barack's defiling the memory of Ann Richards because she would have wanted Hillary to have a clean shot at the nomination' hit . . .

"Now, the strategy has been sufficiently-if-not-completely validated. So Clinton will go on, and chances are that she will go on rough."

Josh Marshall: "The Clinton campaign got rough and nasty over the last week-plus. And they got results. That may disgust you or it may inspire you with confidence in Hillary's abilities as a fighter. But wherever you come down on that question is secondary to the fact that that's how campaign's work. Opponents get nasty. And what we've seen over the last week is nothing compared to what Barack Obama would face this fall if he hangs on and wins the nomination.

"So I think the big question is, can he fight back? Can he take this back to Hillary Clinton, demonstrate his ability to take punches and punch back?"

Of course, what journalists describe as "rough" and "negative" is the fairly standard political tactic of highlighting an opponent's weaknesses. And as long as the charges aren't inaccurate or unduly personal, aren't they fair game?

Atlantic's Marc Ambinder cautions that "a Clinton 'recovery' and nomination is not impossible. It just isn't likely. In the gut of many Clinton advisers 48 hours from now may be the sense that the confetti is ephemeral."

Ambinder also votes for a dream ticket, with Obama on top:

"That's because the longer Hillary Clinton stays in this race, the more inevitable it is that she, by force of will, earns a spot on the ticket. Obama cannot ignore her demographic coalition, her breadth and depth of the support, the energy that she generates, just as Hillary surely cannot ignore -- would not ignore -- everything that Obama has come to stand for and has accomplished."