OK, it's over

Finally.

The NYT reports that Hillary Clinton will "suspend" her campaign and endorse Barack Obama on Friday. Apparently, a group of her supporters in the House and Senate told her that they were moving to Obama, and that finally tipped the matter.

The phrase "forgotten but not gone" was beginning to apply to Hillary.

The final lap of this race was so long that it's hard to believe that the Democratic race really is over. So let's take a moment to stop and reflect on what Obama has done: A black man, with two years in the Senate, is going to be the candidate of the Democratic Party, and should be the favorite to stand up and take the oath next January 20th. Imagine that! Few would have a year and a half ago, when Barack Obama stood on the steps of the Old State House in Springfield, Illinois, and announced his candidacy for President.

This is not the only improbable candidacy for president; indeed, most of them are. Think of Ronald Reagan, former second-rate actor. Or Jimmy Carter, one-term governor and former peanut farmer. Or Abraham Lincoln--a one-term congressman who lost the race for the Illinois Senate seat only two years before being elected to the White House.

A couple of months ago, I would have said that Obama would roll to victory in November, in perhaps the most unlikely story in Presidential history. After the long slog against Clinton, with his repeated defeats in important states (albeit only among the Democratic electorate), that seems a bit less probable. I fear that I have begun to buy the idea that Obama needs to shift his argument, to make a more specific case to the American people. Just relying on his inspiring message will not work, in part because so many voters have heard the message that it has less power to inspire. But truly inspirational leaders--FDR, JFK--have been able to lift hearts and spirits on a variety of subjects and a variety of levels. This is the challenge Obama faces now.