With the race for the democratic nomination now entering a 6 week long hinterland until Pennsylvania votes on April 22nd, it's worth assessing the current state of the contest.

The bottom line is that Barack Obama remains in a commanding position. He has a large lead in pledged and total delegates (the gains made by Hillary Clinton from Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas are likely to be wiped out by Obama's gains in Wyoming and Mississippi since), has won more states, and has a substantial popular vote lead. Slate's delegate calculator shows Clinton is unlikely to be able to claw back Obama's delegate lead - even 20 point wins in all of the remaining states will not result in her going to the convention with more delegates. Obama's fundraising continues to be astronomical - he raised $55 million in February, compared to $35 million for Clinton. John McCain raised an anaemic $12 million.

Consequently, unless Clinton persuades the super-delegates to overturn the will of the Democratic electorate - possible but unlikely - Obama will be the Democratic nominee. But, until then, be prepared for more of this.

Whether the extended race is a bad thing for the Democratic party is a moot point. Certainly Clinton and Obama are increasingly damaging each other. But they are probably doing so less than John McCain and the Republican machine will once the nominee is known. Additionally, McCain's coverage is being squeezed out, the national political debate is primarily being conducted by the two democrats on terms favourable to democrats (with a focus on healthcare, the economy and Iraq), and the extended race is building up dynamic and well-funded democratic organisations in states which would otherwise have been ignored. Overall, the extended race may prove to be a net benefit to the democrats' chances in November.