Hillary Rodham Clinton ground out a gritty victory in the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday night, defeating Barack Obama and staving off elimination in their historic race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“Some counted me out and said to drop out,” the former first lady told supporters cheering her triumph in a state where she was outspent by more than two-to-one. “But the American people don’t quit. And they deserve a president who doesn’t quit, either.” (Associated Press)

Wining by 10 points, Clinton has claimed the tide is turning, and upped her percentage of the popular vote which could prove crucial in swaying superdelegates. Despite this the damage being done to the Democratic party is the topic of much discussion.

Her win Tuesday in the important swing state of Pennsylvania was hard-fought and decisive. Barack Obama’s well-funded effort to shut her down did not come close to an upset.

But despite her victory, the dynamics of the race are the same as they’ve been for more than two months. Obama remains the front-runner, and that gets more important the closer the campaign comes to the end of the primary season.

“He’s content to essentially run out the clock with his narrow lead, while she needs something dramatic to happen,” said California-based Democratic consultant Dan Newman. “A one-run advantage in the first inning isn’t a big deal, but a one-run lead in the ninth looms large.” (Huffington Post)

The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.
Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election. (New York Times)

Finally, NBC adds a sense of inevitability.

Clinton’s chances of winning the nomination based on pledged delegates is effectively over tonight. If Obama keeps his pledged delegate lead to around 150, Clinton needs to win 70% of them on May 6 — and if not, 80% of them after May 6. That’s more than next to impossible.

Irish born Samantha Power, she who described Clinton as a monster, pointed out last night on Prime Time the time has come for a decision so as to switch attention to Mc Cain.