News-Record.com

Thursday's lead editorial.

As the smoke cleared (or did it?) Tuesday night following his epic, sometimes bitter, primary duel with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama emerged as the presumed Democratic presidential nominee.

Obama, the youthful 46-year-old with the rock-star charisma, is the first African American standard bearer for a major party in U.S. history -- a hopeful sign that any of us can grow up to be president.

Arguably, the tide turned decisively in Obama’s favor on May 6, when he handily won what was expected to be a close primary here in North Carolina, and barely lost to Clinton in Indiana. His improbable rise derailed what once had seemed an unstoppable march for Clinton toward an equally significant milestone as the first female major-party nominee.

Clinton made party leaders queasy Tuesday night with coy intimations that it’s still not over. She offered warm words for her rival after winning in South Dakota and losing in Montana, but chose neither to concede to Obama nor to reveal what lies ahead for her. Reports suggested Wednesday night she would suspend her campaign on Saturday and possibly endorse Obama.

That still leaves several unresolved plot threads in this political high drama.

For instance, will Clinton press to become Obama’s running mate? She seems open to the idea. But it’s not clear that the so-called “dream ticket” would be the slam dunk some envision --especially if Obama appeared forced to pick her because it was her choice, not his.

And will Clinton’s insistence on not going gently, if at all, wedge permanent divides in the party and make hollow her assurances that she will do all she can to ensure that the Democrats retake the White House?

Meanwhile, Obama softened his rhetoric toward Clinton in recent weeks, saving sharper words for the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain. For all the twists and turns in the Democratic saga, the general election could be even more compelling.

Both candidates draw clear distinctions on such bedrock policies as health care, the economy and Iraq. Both bring obvious assets and liabilities into the fall campaign: McCain fancies himself a maverick but has reversed some of his positions in attempts to solidify his conservative credentials. Obama offers a fresh face and the mantra of change, but his resume is woefully short in comparison with McCain’s.

Both also must deal delicately with iconic party leaders with whom they can’t live — and can’t live without.

McCain needs the support of an unpopular president, George W. Bush, to raise money and appeal to the GOP base, even as he tries to distance himself from Bush.

And for Obama there’s the lingering question of Mrs. Clinton, who may have left the building after speaking Tuesday night at a New York college, but who obviously wasn’t ready to leave the stage.