The stultifying and never-ending race for the Democratic nomination will reach a critical point today – or not. A total of 404 delegates are up for grabs in eight primaries between today and June 3rd. However, the biggest single portion of them – 187, to be exact – are on the line today as voters in Indiana and North Carolina head to the polls. If Obama wins both, Clinton’s campaign could well be over as the mathematical possibility of her securing the 2,025 delegates needed for the nomination would be all but theoretically excluded.

Except that’s not what the polls indicate will happen. Chances are good that Obama will take North Carolina and Clinton will take Indiana. This will still leave Obama well ahead in delegates, but not enough to shut Clinton out completely. That means another few weeks of tedious grandstanding before the final primaries are held on June 3rd in Montana and South Dakota.

Of course, even then it may not really be over. If Clinton is still behind – a scenario the political handicappers say is the most likely – chances are good she’ll petition Democratic rainmakers for a do-over in Florida and Michigan. Both states were punitively excluded from the race for holding their primaries too early.