Watching MSNBC last night, I enjoyed the spectacle of Terry McAuliffe, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair, arguing with Chris Matthews. McAuliffe insisted that the media had written Clinton off and was trying to shut down the race, while Matthews insisted the media would like nothing better than a race that would go all the way to the convention. Huh? Hasn’t every pundit and anchor on his network and all the others pronounced Clinton dead– since about March? It seems odd now to insist that they have not been trying desperately to sweep Clinton off the stage. And they say Clinton is in a world of denial.

But the media stampede to end the primary (whether you attribute it to Obama-infatuation or sheer boredom) only makes Barack Obama’s thumping yesterday seem worse. If the race is “over” and he still managed to lose this big, it must mean those voters really don’t like him (and they don’t care what the media says).

That said, will Obama win? Absent some huge intervening event, almost certainly, yes. He just hasn’t won yet. The media made the mistake of calling the game too soon. As a result, they’ve only helped embarrass their favorite-son candidate.