Last night's victories for Hillary Clinton in Texas and Ohio give her fresh hope of winning the Democrat nomination (although the delegate count is looking tricky for her).
The consensus seems to be that a protracted fight for that nomination favours John McCain, now confirmed as the Republican candidate.
I'm not so sure. McCain is certainly helped if it gets nastier and if the Democrats deplete their coffers in their internal fights but they could also monopolise the airwaves for the next few weeks and months.
David Cameron always appears to enjoy a boost when he's in the news. Party conventions and conferences nearly always boost their parties. I'm not yet ready to believe that a protracted Obama-v-Clinton contest will hurt the Democrats' chances in November - particularly if they end up on a joint ticket.
A Clinton-led ticket seems more likely than an Obama-led ticket. He has youth on his side and could imagine being the nominee in four or eight years' time. I can't see her agreeing to be Obama's running mate.
