Is Hillary Done?

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson wasn't saying uncle, telling Joe Scarborough this morning that the Indiana win was "strong and impressive," that Indiana borders Illinois, that Obama outspent his side, and so on. But he did not sound enthusiastic.

The New York Times says Hillary "did nothing to improve her chances of securing the Democratic presidential nomination. If anything, Mrs. Clinton's options for overtaking Senator Barack Obama may have dwindled further.

"For Mr. Obama, the outcome came after a brutal period in which he was on the defensive over the inflammatory comments of his former pastor. That he was able, at a minimum, to hold his own under those circumstances should allow him to make a case that he has proved his resilience in the face of questions about race, values and patriotism -- the very kinds of issues that the Clinton campaign has suggested would leave him vulnerable in the general election.

"When paired with Mr. Obama's comfortable victory in North Carolina, a bigger state, Mrs. Clinton's performance in Indiana did not seem to be enough to cut into Mr. Obama's lead in pledged delegates or in his overall lead in the popular vote. And because Mrs. Clinton did not appear to come particularly close in North Carolina, despite a substantial effort there, she lost an opportunity to sow new doubts among Democratic leaders about Mr. Obama's general-election appeal."

The L.A. Times also has Clinton clinging:

"Tuesday's voting in Indiana and North Carolina put Hillary Rodham Clinton no closer to overtaking Barack Obama on the path to the Democratic presidential nomination. That now leaves Clinton with one overriding task: to make the path longer.

And the New York Post pulls out a screaming headline: "TOAST":

"Hillary Rodham Clinton suffered devastating blows to her already-fading hopes last night - she was routed by Sen. Barack Obama in North Carolina, while her Indiana must-win-big primary turned into an early-morning nail-biter that she barely eked out."

But many of the morning papers are in the they-traded-victories mode. I wonder whether that's because they are being cautious or because they largely had to finish their pieces before Hillary's margin shrunk to such meager levels.

"It is like watching two punch-drunk fighters in a slow-motion montage of the glancing blows, the same frames over and over, both wobbly but still standing," says the Chicago Tribune.

"Tuesday's split decision in North Carolina and Indiana makes only one thing clear: The race goes on, with no tidy end in sight.

"But Sen. Barack Obama emerged with a clear advantage."