It is harder for Hillary now, but she shouldn't quit yet

The tightness of the Indiana result and the failure to dent Obama's significant North Carolina lead have certainly made it harder for Hillary to continue, not least because she allowed expectations to be raised in the last week. But her basic arguments about the disenfranchisement of millions of Florida and Michigan Democrats remain. And, if anything, Obama is a far less winnable choice today than a month ago, which has as much to do with his ability as a politician as it has to do with her tough campaigning. The man who should be doing more to sort all this out is Howard Dean, the party chairman whose main claim to fame was his losing scream in the 2004 primaries. Dean needs to resolve the Florida/Michigan issue fairly, and set the scene for a sensible resolution of the contest once all the votes have been cast in early June. Until then, there is no reason why Hillary should bow out.