Hillary Clinton’s win in Pennsylvania will turn out to be one of the most important yet if she can capitalize on it properly and build on the momentum it will to give her in future primary states like Indiana. She is expected to win by 8 to 10% when the final tally is in, which is very impressive in light of the way the polls have been going recently.

In the past few days the polls gave her a 6% lead at best. As it stands right now her lead in right around 10%. That would be equal to the margin of victory she had in Ohio. So, just what happened in Pennsylvania? What did the candidates do well and where did they mess up?

Obama came out strong, but some say too strong. His media blitz worked more against him than for him. He out spent the Clinton campaign by at least 3 to 1, yet it did not work. Some people were tired of it, and grew weary of his ads. Also, his comments in San Francisco about small town Americans being bitter and clinging to religion and guns worked against him. Clinton received a large majority of the votes from church goers as well as gun owners, and a large chunk of the rural vote.

The debate also played a part. Coming as it did just a few days before the primary, it was fresh in the voters minds. Obama typically does not do good in debates, and this one was focused on the statements he made and when it did touch on the issues, he did not score big. Since then he has called for an end to debates in the future. If he is still chosen to be the Democratic nominee, he would still have to debate John McCain. This brings into question the ongoing issue of his electability in a general election.

Where do we go from here? With the way the Democrats split up the delegates, it is hard to predict just how many Clinton will pick up from Pennsylvania. Howard Dean is calling the super delegates to finally make up their minds, however they have been waiting to see what happens in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina. Most of them will wait until then to make up their minds.

Another thing to watch will be the amount of momentum carried over for Clinton into Indiana. Just a couple of months ago, she had a commanding lead and now still leads by about 5% after losing ground to Obama. This is very similar to what happened in Pennsylvania. If the polls that come out in the next few days show her gaining ground, the only primary that Obama may be able to win could be North Carolina.

Clinton took the right tone in her victory speech tonight. She focused on what she intends to accomplish instead of on any negative attacks. If she keeps that up and gets the voters to listen, those who told her to drop out may be eating their words.

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