Awaiting results in Indiana

By Jennifer J. Foster

I love election days.

Most polls have just closed in Indiana, and the first raw vote totals are just seconds away.

It’s kind of like having to endure the interminable wait on Christmas morning, as you sit upstairs while your parents get the videocamera ready.

The last polls before voting began showed Hillary Clinton with about a four point lead over Barack Obama in Indiana, which had been a dead heat as the candidates made the turn off of Pennsylvania. As Obama dealt with the Jeremiah Wright controversy, polls showed her closing what had been close to a 20-point lead for him. She gambled and split her time between the Hoosier and Tarheel states, since North Carolina offers 115 delegates to Indiana’s 72. Will it pay off? Losses in both states will likely be the last nail in the Clinton campaign coffin.

On the other hand, if Clinton wins both contests, it will be a clear sign to Democratic delegates—super and “pledged”—that there are serious cracks in Obama’s electability argument.

Convention wisdom is that the candidates will split the states, Obama taking North Carolina and Clinton holding Indiana. Both will live to fight another day.

First raw totals seconds away ... Whoo hoo!!