It was a disappointing night for Obama-backers, but I have to handit to Sen. Hillary Clinton for refusing to be written off by thepundits and for rebounding so strongly in Ohio, while holding onfor a tight win in Texas. Now what?

I actually think Hillary has regained the upper hand in securingthe nomination–but the question is, with the delegate count soclose and so few primaries left, how will she pull it off, and howsoon? And will the delay and continued infighting hand the electionto the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain?

If Sen. Clinton wins Pennsylvania next month–which I expect herto do, since the state tends to run more conservative, likeOhio–the two should be about dead even on delegates as of lateApril.

By winning last night's biggest races, Clinton should put a stopto the high-profile and very damaging defections bysuper-delegates. It also punctures Obama's aura of invulnerabilityand historical inevitability.

She can also build a case that since she won all the bigstates–New York, California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas and (soonto be) Pennsylvania–she deserves the nomination.

It's really too bad that Florida and Michigan defied the partyleadership and had their primaries disqualified for holdingelections before Super Tuesday. These are two key states in thegeneral election, and to leave them out in such a close primaryrace is a terrible development for the Democrats.

I would like to see a “do-over,” with both states holding newprimaries in mid-to-late May or early June to settle this once andfor all.

I don't agree at all with the calls of Clinton's campaign staffto seat the delegates from both states (not surprising, since she“won” both), as neither candidate campaigned there because of theparty's excommunication. Obama wasn't even on the Michiganballot.

However, I suspect Clinton would win both states in ado-over–and perhaps that should be considered when picking thenominee, since I doubt the party will “reward” either state thatwent rogue by giving them another shot–with the likelihood that theoutcome could decide the nomination.

John Edwards is another wild card. By “suspending” rather thanformally ending his campaign, he retained his delegates. While hecan't assign them to anyone else, his endorsement would go a longway towards convincing them to go with his choice. He has 60 or sodelegates, I believe, which could make a big difference in a photofinish.

What would it take to get Edwards' backing? Perhaps a promise toappoint him Secretary of Health and Human Services, charged withimplementing a universal health insurance plan. Since he came upwith the first and most comprehensive health care reform plan, hewould be a perfect choice for that job in eitheradministration.

The bad news is that while the Democrats fight on to choose anominee, McCain has all this down time to get some badly neededrest (he is 71, after all), raise some desperately needed funds,put together a bigger and better campaign organization, build hissupport among skeptical conservatives, and still take his shotsagainst both Obama and Clinton without having to actually debateeither head on until fall.

I still think Obama has a much better shot of beating McCainthan does Clinton, despite the experience factor. (In fact, McCainhad the best line of the week when, in response to the ad warstarted by Clinton over who was most qualified to “answer thephone” when it rings during a crisis at 3 a.m. in the White House,he quipped that obviously, given his 50 years of experience in themilitary and Congress, he was the most qualified of the three.)

I continue to believe only Obama can beat McCain in any of theSouthern states. He would mobilize blacks and young voters inrecord numbers, which could put him over the top in key swingstates such as Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania–yet those two votingblocks might mope and stay home on Election Day if their hero failsto secure the nomination. Plus Obama doesn't have the baggageClinton must carry.

Would those factors be moot if Obama were to be the vicepresidential candidate? Would a Clinton-Obama ticket be unbeatable?Perhaps, but I don't see Clinton risking being upstaged by someoneshe sees as a charismatic upstart.

What do you folks think?