One thing is obvious from tonight's victories for Hillary. And no, it's not about momentum or being the come back kid.
And it's not about who has more delegates or superdelegates or whether to count Michigan and Florida.
This is about a clear message from the voters: we want to have our cake and eat it too.
We want Hillary and Obama.
I know what you will say. I've seen the diaries and comments. People mourning for their country. People joining the "Hillary haters" club. People are sad and depressed and angry at the thought that Hillary is not going away.
But what the polls continue to show is that Democrats like both candidates and are having a hard time choosing.
Put aside the surrogates. Put aside the endorsements. Put aside the television ads, the debates, the speeches.
And definitely put aside the blogs.
And look at the votes. The democratic party likes its two candidates. And for all the vitriol that is thrown at the Clinton camp (quite a lot on this site, in fact), there are millions of people in this country who have voted for her, donated money to her, and worked as hard as Obama supporters because they believe in her as much as Obama supporters believe in him.
Despite the threats in the blogosphere, most Democrats say they will vote for either candidate. And they'll do it happily.
And for all the claims of damage that Clinton has done to the party, look at the Democratic party for just a minute. Look at the people who are turning out to vote in the Democratic races -- and how those numbers overwhelm the Republican turn out. In every state, in every county in this country, people are turning out -- for Obama and for Hillary.
Democrats want them both.
The answer is clear. It has been for a while, but the race has turned ugly -- yes, on both sides -- and the answer has seemed increasingly less possible.
But really, hasn't it always been the answer?
They both need to be on the ticket.
Hillary and Obama complement each other in way few tickets ever have. Hillary's supporters admire her experience, her knowledge, her pragmatism. Obama supporters admire his inspiration, his dreams, his ability to make people believe in their dreams.
We need them both.
The math of the race has been analyzed again and again and again. Arguments can be made for both sides. The results of Michigan and Florida assist Hillary, yes, but Obama is in the unfortunate position and having to deny them their voice by arguing against counting their votes.
There are super delegates who want to support the candidate who won in their district or state. But no one thinks John Kerry and Edward Kennedy should have to suddenly renounce their support of Obama because their state when overwhelmingly to Clinton.
We should have them both.
There has been discussion of party elders having private conversations. Yesterday, people were hoping the party elders would convince Hillary to drop out of the race for the good of the party.
But that hardly seems fair to the voters of Texas and Ohio and Rhode Island, who sent the message to the country and the party that they don't want her kicked out tomorrow.
Maybe the party elders need to have a different kind of conversation with our candidates.
Maybe the party elders need to remind our candidates that it was only a few debates ago (although, in this campaign, it seems a lifetime ago), that someone suggested that Democrats look at Hillary and Obama on a stage together and think "That's our dream ticket."
And you know, it really is.
Maybe we don't have to choose. Maybe we don't have to decide if racism or sexism is a worse. Maybe we don't have to break only one glass ceiling at a time. Maybe we don't have to throw away the skills of one candidate for another.
Maybe we can take on McCain from all sides. From a position of opposing the war, and a position of what to do about it now. Maybe we can challenge the country to say "Yes we can" and "Yes she will."
Maybe this is a chance to have a ticket that stands for wisdom and for change, for hope and experience, for a woman and a black man.
Maybe, just maybe, this is a moment for all of us.
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