The Clinton campaign machine is sucking wind like a Hoover vacuum cleaner, now that Hillary’s passive-aggressive, race-oriented attacks against Obama clearly backfired. Hillary’s huge loss in Georgia, where the Democratic base is largely black, sends the Clintons a strong message: Many black Democrats don’t like you after all. Hillary does not own the so-called “black vote.”

Although Obama won several states, he still trails in pledged delegates. Obama’s strongest wins were in his home state of Illinois and Georgia, where he’ll receive a significant share of the 288 delegates in those states.

Obama also won North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, and Utah with 278 delegates up for grabs.

Clinton won her home state of New York and somehow managed to confuse Democrats in New Jersey and Massachusetts by winning in those states. Clinton has also duped Democrats in Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Arizona, and has won a sizable share of the 235 delegates in those states.

With very little ideological difference between Clinton and Obama it seems that Democrats cannot decide if they want a half-African as president or a woman.

The Republicans, on the other hand, are in the midst of an obvious identity crisis. Republican strategists are likely hoping that Clinton wins the Democratic nomination (which will probably happen) because a short, 71-year-old white guy doesn’t stand a chance against Obama if the Republicans choose McCain.

Conservatives understand why Dobson, Coulter, Limbaugh, and others are against McCain. Many wonder if he’s actually a conservative. “John McCain is not only bad for Republicanism, which he definitely is - he is bad for the country,” says Ann Coulter.

Additionally, it seems that America is ready for something different than a white male in the White House. Why are Republicans so incapable of producing a non-white male or female electable candidate for the office of president? Alan Keyes is totally unelectable, too quirky, and should never be encouraged to run for public office ever again. Moreover, the passing-over of J.C. Watts while he was in the House was truly scandalous.

As a result of Republican’s inability to construct a cohesive message and cultivate candidates that represent a changing America, a decisive loss should be expected in November, especially if Obama emerges as the Democrat’s choice.

How did Waring Howe, Jr., a personal injury attorney running a one-horse practice in South Carolina, become one of the most sought-after men in Democratic politics? By becoming one of an elite group known as the “super delegates.” WORLD’s Jamie Dean reports:

The 796 super delegates comprise about 20 percent of the 4,049 delegates sent to the Democratic nominating convention this summer, and they hold unique power. he majority of convention delegates are elected by state parties and are considered “pledged delegates,” which means they must vote in the nominating convention for the presidential candidate who won their states’ primaries. When a candidate wins a state primary, the delegates he or she picks up are pledged delegates.

But super delegates, or “unpledged delegates,” are considered free agents: They aren’t bound to their states’ choice for a nominee, and they may commit support to any candidate they choose at any time during the primary season.

With state primaries seesawing between Senators Obama and Clinton, people like Howe may hold in their hands the futures of some of the most powerful people in politics.

Yesterday on Meet the Press, Hillary Clinton claimed that the Iraqis are changing their ways — now contributing to the quelling of terrorist violence in their country — because of the Democratic candidates’ “commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009.”

So, William Kristol notes wryly on today’s New York Times op-ed page. . .

. . .the Democratic Party, having proclaimed that the war is lost and having sought to withdraw U.S. troops, deserves credit for any progress that may have been achieved in Iraq. That is truly a fairy tale. And it is driven by a refusal to admit real success because that success has been achieved under the leadership of … George W. Bush. The horror!

Read Kristol’s entire op-ed here.

Among likely Democratic caucus-goers in this ABC News/Washington Post poll, 33 percent support Obama, 29 percent Clinton and 20 percent Edwards, with single-digit support for the other Democratic candidates, ABC News reports. That’s similar to the 30-26-22 percent division in the last ABC/Post poll in Iowa a month ago.

After her long, double-digit lead over Obama, why do you think Hillary is falling behind?

Some pol-watchers have proposed that a Clinton-Obama ticket might be unstoppable in 2008. First woman president. First black vice president. But others say Clinton — whom, at this point, we might reasonably call the presumptive nominee — might try to peel away Red State moderate votes by tapping Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana as her running mate. Russ Pulliam, writing for WORLD, says Bayh could contribute to a Clinton ticket “from a career built on moderation and caution. Even being a white male might work in his favor. ” (Imagine that.)

“Bayh would clearly be on anybody’s short list,” said University of Virginia Prof. Larry Sabato, who runs the Center for Politics. “Mark Warner was the major competition for Evan Bayh as far as moderate white males from red states are concerned. There aren’t a lot of them.”

Bayh would bring several assets to the Clinton campaign. At a personal level, he is polite and charming. He’s an articulate spokesman for fatherhood, writing a book on the subject and tackling the topic of discipline in Evan Bayh from Father to Son. As Indiana governor, he promoted the fatherhood movement and offered other culturally conservative initiatives. He didn’t serve liquor at the governor’s mansion and reinstated Gideon Bibles in state park inns after an overzealous official thought they violated the First Amendment. In the Senate his first major legislative proposal was the Responsible Fatherhood Act.

Politically he rebuilt the Democratic Party from near death in Indiana, winning two terms as governor and capturing a Senate seat. As governor, Bayh took a stab at education reform but never put a definitive stamp on a particular policy or issue. He did avoid tax increases and built up a budget surplus. And he just won elections.

Would Bayh be a smart choice for Hillary?