Can McCain overcome the G.O.P. brand?

Obama is continuing to rack up superdelegates – party leaders and elected officials who can back whomever they want – at a faster clip than Clinton. In just the last few days alone, he has picked up the same number of superdelegates that she netted in pledged delegates in West Virginia, and he now leads her in the race for superdelegates.

Clinton persists in claiming that she is the stronger nominee to face McCain in the fall. But the math is likely to get even tougher for her May 20, when Kentucky and Oregon hold their primaries. Obama is expected to win Oregon handily, and Clinton is strong in Kentucky.

Then there are the "lost" delegates of Florida and Michigan, which held their primaries earlier than party rules allowed and have been stripped of their delegates. Clinton won both states, but Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan.

Even if Florida were counted and she were to win Kentucky next week with 65 percent of the vote, Obama would still be ahead in the popular vote by 150,000 as long as he wins the remaining states in which he is leading by slim margins, says Gerald Pomper, a retired political science professor at Rutgers University. "Even if she were to win Oregon, which she's not trying to do, I don't think she'd have a chance at the nomination."

The Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet on May 31 to try to solve the Michigan and Florida problem, and seat at least some of their delegates in a way that satisfies both Clinton and Obama.

If the Democrats can finish primary season with no major blowups, and an accommodation of Clinton that leaves her happy and supportive of the Democratic ticket – perhaps even with her on it as Obama's running mate – then the party can get to work uniting and taking advantage of the Republicans' deep vulnerabilities.

After Tuesday's loss in Mississippi – a special election to fill the seat of Rep. Roger Wicker – one GOP leader laid out the party's challenge.

"The political environment is such that voters remain pessimistic about the direction of the country and the Republican Party in general," congressional campaign committee chair Tom Cole said in a statement. "Therefore, Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward-looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for. This is something we can do in cooperation with our presidential nominee, but time is short."

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