After spending $15 million in Pennsylvania in the past month and logging hours on the road across the Keystone State, the two Democratic candidates traded just a dozen delegates.

Clinton’s victory, though nearly a full 10 points in the popular vote, was hardly substantial where it counted.  The situation mirrored Texas, which Hillary actually lost in the delegate count, and Super Tuesday’s races, all of which left the campaign nearly unchanged. The election has cost Obama and Clinton together over $350 million to-date with virtually inconclusive results continuously plaguing the race.

Though Hillary did not gain much ground on Obama this week, she did win two critical victories: she cut Obama’s popular vote lead by 25% and picked up a much needed wave of momentum. Almost as important for Hillary has been signs that Obama is wearing down. (His hair is even graying.) His uncharacteristic miscues, such as the comment about rural Pennsylvanians, are leading some Democrats to think that if he can’t go the distance in the primary, how could he withstand the presidency?

Financial expenditures and aging aside, the basic math is in Obama’s favor right now. Given a best case scenario in the remaining primaries, Hillary will still be well short of taking the lead (considering polls in Indiana and North Carolina). The contest will eventually come down to superdelegates, of which she will need 70% to 75% of the remaining undeclared. Unfortunately she has only gotten 4% of the pledged superdelegates since March.

This has led to many calls for Hillary to exit and allow Obama to focus on McCain. But Slate Magazine says Hillary has “every right to stay in the primary race for as long as she wishes” because she could capture the popular vote and sway the superdelegates. Yet, even if she were to win the popular vote, would superdelegates truly strip Obama of the nomination he leads by the party’s rules?

Considering superdelegates are the most important voters now, Democrats will basically be spending money on themselves under the guise of primary elections. The situation would almost be comical if one didn’t consider all the other things $15 million could have bought. How many uninsured Americans could get healthcare from the next $100 million spent in this campaign?

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Democrats need 2,025 delegates to snag the party’s nomination. According to the Washington Post, Obama has 1,386 delegates and 199 of the 800 super delegates. Clinton has 1,276 delegates, including 241 super delegates. At The New Republic’s Plank, Jonathan Chait says Clinton needs 57% of the pledged delegates to claim a victory.

TEXAS

• Delegates: 228 total delegates, 35 super delegates

• Polls: Still too close to call, but Real Clear Politics takes an average and gives Clinton a tiny 1.7% lead.

• Key Demographics: Hispanics (37.1%), Blacks (22%), Females (51.9%) 29 and young voters (11%).

OHIO

• Delegates: 161 total delegates, 20 super delegates

• Polls: Real Clear Politics average gives Clinton a 7.1% lead. Most polls show a tie or give Clinton a slight lead.

• Key issues: Economy and NAFTA.

• Key voter group: Union workers, who make up 14% of Ohio’s workers.

RHODE ISLAND

• Delegates: 32

• Polls: Real Clear Politics average gives Clinton a 9.7% lead.

VERMONT

• Delegates: 15

• Polls: Solid for Obama, who has 57% to Clinton’s 33%.
  

KEY QUESTIONS

• Who will sway religious voters? A Gallup Poll found that highly religious white Democrats tend to favor Clinton over Obama. Black Democrats — usually more religious than white Democrats — heavily favor Obama, however. Christianity Today notes that it is hard to find reliable data for Democratic-voting evangelicals
• Will Republicans and conservative-leaning Independents vote for Obama?
  
• Can Clinton’s 3:00 AM ad convince voters that she’s the one to trust on national security?
• Will “NAFTA-gate,” as the Clinton campaign calls it, tarnish Obama’s rhetoric of change?

A struggling Hillary Clinton went after Barack Obama last night during a close-quarters debate at Cleveland State University, but she was outmanned—as moderators Tim Russert and Brian Williams seemed to have Obama’s back.

As The New York Times reported, the toughest debate blows “came not from Mr. Obama but from Mr. Russert, who fiercely questioned [Clinton] about her past positions on NAFTA, Iraq and even a campaign promise from 2000, in her first Senate run.” A video mix-up caused two negative clips of Clinton to be played in a row. Williams apologized, but still turned to Obama, giving him a shot gratis: “Since we played that tape, albeit in error, for this segment, how did you take those remarks when you heard them?”

Post-debate commentary largely chalked the win to Obama, though some said it was a boring, “low-scoring” event—like “a hockey game . . . and I didn’t see many goals,” said “Hardball” pundit Chris Matthews. Clinton vented at one point that she felt ganged up on, complaining that she always gets asked questions first. She referenced this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” skit that mocked the previous debate in Texas by turning its moderators into Obama-obsessed fawners. (Jorge Ramos’s faux title was “Univision reporter/Obama stalker.”) The real Clinton parroted the skit to the moderators: “Ask Barack if he’s comfortable.”

Russert later challenged Clinton to name Vladimir Putin’s successor Dmitri Medvedev (”Med—uh, Medvedev . . . whatever,” she said), and to release her tax return. “I will do it as others have done it,” she said, “or even earlier, Tim.” Russert shot back, “So, before next Tuesday’s primary?” Flustered, Hillary responded she “can’t get it together by then” because she’s “a little busy right now. I hardly have time to sleep.”

For his part, moderators asked Obama if he’d renege on his promise to opt for a publicly funded general election—a pledge McCain says he’ll honor. Obama replied that “if I’m the nominee,” he’ll “sit down with John McCain and make sure that we have a system that is fair for both sides.” He also was pressed on last week’s surprise endorsement—one by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Russert wondered how Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism looks to Jewish supporters and noted that Obama lifted his book title, The Audacity of Hope, from his pastor Jeremiah Wright, who has praised Farrakhan and whose in-house magazine gave Farrakhan a lifetime-achievement award.

Clinton chimed in here, saying that when New York’s Independence Party, whose platform has anti-Semitic elements, endorsed her in the 2000 Senate race, she “rejected” its support. Obama, who in his response to Russert “denounced” anti-Semitic support like Farrakhan’s, smiled and responded that he, then, is happy to both “reject and denounce” Farrakhan.

It was the 20th debate, and if Clinton fails to reverse the tide during Tuesday’s elections in Texas (where Obama leads) and Ohio (where Clinton’s lead is fading), it could be the final. Supporters fear Clinton’s campaign is becoming a long shot. Some signs: It has only won 13 states to Obama’s 24. Sen. Chris Dodd, the former running mate and a Connecticut superdelegate, endorsed Obama yesterday. A CBS/New York Times poll released Monday has Clinton down by 16 points. Her campaign is having trouble making payments, even as she has loaned it $5 million.