With the latest poll in Ohio showing an Obama lead over McCain, Kos takes a look at how the electoral map is shaping up for November. So far, things look good for Obama.

This is all playing out as expected, but it doesn’t make Hillary Clinton any less annoying. Her speeches are a little more gracious than before, but her shameless claims that she is winning the popular vote, a calculation one gets to only by counting Michigan and giving Obama ZERO votes for Michigan, is just pathetic.

The press is hyperventilating, trying to explain how the party is trying not to offend her by proclaiming that the race is over. At some point the issue becomes how much she is willing to offend the rest of the party.

There’s no reason to be concerned. She’s finished. But I still wish she would just go away.

Peggy Noonan blasts today’s pathetic Republican Party. She’s not saying anything new. She just has a way with words, and her essay sums up the problems nicely.

These problems, however, have been apparent for years, and even Peggy has been late to the party. In Kansas in 2006, old Republicans bolted from the party and won seats as Democrats.

The Republicans deserve to get crushed in the fall. If that happens, it will be the best possible result for the party (and the country).

The fall campaign is underway. Getting Edwards to endorse has less to do with wrapping up the nomination and more to do with uniting the party for the general election.

Hillary Clinton won big tonight in West Virginia, demonstrating the Obama has plenty of work to do in that part of the country, but she knows it’s over. She argued her case again tonight, but she gave a very classy and gracious speech. She will play this out, at least through next week but probably through all the primaries, but it looks like she will try to make a classy exit.

Obama is already starting to pull ahead of McCain in the polls. If Hillary follows through, supports Obama, gives a classy convention speech and then works hard to unite the party, the Dems will be in great shape in the fall.

This will help McCain minimize the damage done by his enthusiastic courting of Hagee in getting his endorsement. Bill Donahue has accepted the endorsement, clearing the way for him to support McCain in the fall. Democrats will still bring this up, especially if McCain raises the Wright issue, but this will quiet Donahue and other Catholic commentators.

Classic quote from a voter in West Virginia:

Like most people in Mingo County, West Virginia, Leonard Simpson is a lifelong Democrat. But given a choice between Barack Obama and John McCain in November, the 67-year-old retired coalminer would vote Republican.

“I heard that Obama is a Muslim and his wife’s an atheist,” said Mr Simpson, drawing on a cigarette outside the fire station in Williamson, a coalmining town of 3,400 people surrounded by lush wooded hillsides.

Tuesday will be an ugly day for Obama. Fortunately, it really doesn’t matter, but it will present yet another opportunity for Hillary to pontificate about race.

Vulgar and cynical. It’s amazing how low Hillary will go. She will go down as one of the most classless politicians in American history.

Obama is gearing up for the fall, as he goes after McCain regarding Hamas.

Obama said he was offended when McCain said last month, “It’s very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president.”

“I think it’s disappointing because John McCain always says, ‘Well, I’m not going to run that kind of politics,’ and then to engage in that kind of smear I think is unfortunate, particularly since my policy on Hamas has been no different than his,” Obama said.

“And so for him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination.”

“Losing his bearings.” I love that line.

Fred Barnes makes a persuasive case.

I’m not a big fan of Rendell, but he would deliver Pennsylvania.