The cable networks call it for Barack literally ten seconds after the polls close. More later, including a handful of pictures from today—for now feast on the results, including exit polls that hint at a huge victory for Obama and trouble for Clinton as the race goes on...
Be back soon.
UPDATED: Just jumping back online to say that everything tonight cuts against the race narrative the Clintons have spent the last three weeks building. Marc Ambinder notes that not only was Obama "close enough" in the white vote, but it also appears that he and Edwards Clinton tied for white males. Meanwhile turnout was apparently massive, with many new voters. This is all very, very good. I don't know how the Clintons right the ship this week, though I imagine whatever they attempt will be disgraceful.
UPDATE 2: Thank God Edwards hasn't left the race yet.
UPDATE 3: As Shankar pointed out regarding the already-infamous Jesse Jackson remark in the comments, the Clintons have basically decided to just come out and admit their plan:
Clinton campaign strategists denied any intentional effort to stir the racial debate. But they said they believe the fallout has had the effect of branding Obama as "the black candidate," a tag that could hurt him outside the South.I was talking about this earlier today, and I really think that the race-baiting strategy is at the point where it now begins to boomerang on them. Here's why: very few people in America want to be racist. Race-baiting in politics can be effective when it's subtle and deniable; be too blatant about it, though, and you begin to incentivize voters to vote for Obama just to prove they (and the country) aren't racist after all. If the Clintons weren't already past that point, I think they blew by it tonight.
The margin of victory is hovering around 2-to-1, by the way; at 95% reporting it's 55 to 26. The delegate margin may be even higher. This is another unbelievably historic night.
UPDATE 4: Here's the text of the victory speech, another home run. Here's YouTube:
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