Preliminaries Over, the Nation Begins to Look to November.(presidential elections)

Pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Clinton quasi-exited from the presidential contest with all the lack of grace that we've come to expect from the Clintons. (Technically, she "suspended" her campaign.)

There will be more books written about the amazing presidential contests in the Republican and Democratic primaries than the last four competitions put together. Already some of the biggest names in journalism have inked contracts. I firmly believe the one thing they'll have in common is the conviction that the Clintons poisoned their own well. Only self-importance/self-delusion on a Clintonesque scale can explain how someone with her gigantic initial advantages could lose to a man so inexperienced his resume could easily fit on the back of a postage stamp.

But while the Clintons are no doubt still spinning out scenarios that have Hillary Clinton securing the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, the rest of us have come to grips with reality. I've been an observer of presidential politics since 1960 and for sheer unpredictability, no contest comes within a country mile of the battle royale we can anticipate between pro-abortion par excellence Sen. Barack Obama and pro-life Sen. John McCain.

If I may let me suggest there are three fundamental realities that will shape the contours of this fascinating fight. Bear in mind first and foremost that both the Abortion Establishment and its legion of sympathizers in the "mainstream media" know that Obama is their gallant champion and McCain their mortal enemy.

#1. Obama limped across the finish line. At the same time he was enthralling his supporters in St. Paul, Minnesota (which will be the site of the Republican national convention), Obama was winning in Montana but losing in South Dakota. This was not anticipated.

As ABC's Jake Tapper observed, "Not only did she stomp on Sen. Barack Obama with more than 30-point victories in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico, last night she won a state that Obama was predicted to win by double digits: South Dakota. There he'd been endorsed by practically every state political icon, minus Mount RushmoreDaschle, McGovern, Johnson, Herseth Sandlin."

Real Clear Politics put this headline to Washington Post columnist David Broder's June 5 story: "Obama: A Victor on His Heels." It was different summary from what accompanied Broder's story in the Post and far, far more accurate. It's hard to miss that the Democratic presidential nominee stumbled his way over the goal line