Full Circle. | The "VSC."

"Tonight, Iowa, in the fullness of spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people, and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for president of the United States." After winning Oregon 59-41 (with 94% reporting) and, uh, doing less well in Kentucky (although I was heartened to see he took Louisville), Sen. Obama returns to Iowa with a majority of the pledged delegates, thus effectively sealing up the nomination.

It looks like Sen. Clinton has decided to hang around a few more weeks nonetheless (in part, it seems, to expose the "vast sexist conspiracy" which caused her not to contest caucus states or come up with a plan past Super Tuesday), but the focus for Team Obama is now clearly on John McCain and the GOP. "'I will leave it up to Senator McCain to explain to the American people whether his policies and positions represent long-held convictions or Washington calculations,' Obama's remarks continued, 'but the one thing they don't represent is change.'"

Update: By way of The Late Adopter and sententiae et clamores, The Village Voice's Allison Benedikt puts the lie to Sen. Clinton's grappling with sexism of late: "Currently pregnant with the next generation, let me just say this: There is no greater wish that a mother can have for her daughter than that she will exploit poor people, obliterate Iran, and win rigged class president elections, Putin-style. (Mom, I won 100 percent of the vote!)...This War on Women is just like the War on Christmas: imaginary."