And the race goes on...

Clinton wins more big states. Obama wins more states. Clinton firms up her support from women, who are consistently the majority of Dem primary voters. Obama wins in several white, rural states, erasing the notion his appeal is limited by race.

In the end, it's a delegate race, and wherever that ends up, the margin won't be enough to force anybody out of the race.

Where do/should the candidates go from here?

Obama should recognize there is a limit to his personal appeal. It doesn't touch the cynical who are resistant to florid rhetoric, who don't see (or don't care about) a difference on Iraq, and are looking for a president who has a strong grasp of domestic policy.

Of course, the problem Obama has in adding more wonk to his stump is he's no fun to listen to when he's wonky, potentially taking away the great strength that has been his ability to inspire voters around the big goals of universal health care, fighting global warming and ending the war.

One possible solution: town halls that start with Q&A, where he can delve into details, and end on a high note with classic Obama oratory. (Town halls that end on Q&A tend to drag and deflate the room.)

For her sake, Clinton hopefully has re-learned the lesson that going in the gutter with race-baiting continues to backfire.

She basically put Bill, and other surrogates doing the dirty work, back in the box (or, Obama's counterattacks in SC stuffed him back in the box). And she was better off for it.