Hillary's victory in Nevada says a lot about her exceptional organization and a campaign that is jazzed for a fight.
After Barack Obama scored early with a victory in Iowa, Clinton - up against the wall and against the ropes - pulled out that victory in New Hampshire and now Nevada. She did it without the endorsement of the hugely influential Culinary Union out there, and even those controversial caucuses on the strip. She's ahead in delegates (and super delegates ... I'll explain that in another blog) and has recaptured the momentum.
South Carolina will be a battle. Her campaign knows that. But no matter what happens in South Carolina, you just know deep down, that with years of Clinton connections and a "been there, done that' mentality of a veteran campaign staff that has gone through the wars before, this Clinton campaign seems poised to take off.
You may start to have two forces emerge as February 5 approaches. First, these issues of inevitability and electability will creep up again. And now that Hillary has "found her voice," it may be a daily double that will propel her to the nomination. Read below from The Associated Press:
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Saturday won the Nevada caucuses clinching a second key victory over rival Barack Obama, US media reported.
With 69.48 percent of precincts reporting, networks gave Clinton 50.17 percent of the Democratic vote, Obama some 45.16 percent leaving John Edwards trailing badly in third place with 4.38 percent.
"This is a huge win for Hillary. This is big, this is a big day," said Clinton's campaign manager Terry McAuliffe speaking on MSNBC.
Clinton and Obama had both campaigned hard here, chasing a second major validation from voters in their bid to be the Democratic Party's candidate in the November 4 election to succeed Republican President George W. Bush.
"This will add to our delegate count. This gives us clearly momentum," McAuliffe said as the rivals look towards Super Tuesday on February 5 when more than 22 states will pick their candidates.
"They know she is the change agent, they know she is going to get the country moving again," he added.
Obama's foreign policy advisor Susan Rice speaking on MSNBC said: "Hillary Clinton enjoyed the establishment support in Nevada.
"This is a good showing for Barack Obama, quite frankly, better than anyone could have anticipated a few weeks ago."
Obama pulled off an upset victory in Iowa when the White House race was officially launched at the beginning of the month, to beat the former first lady narrowly into third place after Edwards.
But after a hard-fought campaign, Clinton triumphed over the young Illinois senator in the New Hampshire primary just days later.
South Carolina becomes crucial for Obama. It may not be a must win - there are a bunch of delegates out there February 5. But if Hillary Clinton comes in here and goes three for three, it becomes much harder for him.
Will undecided African-Americans down here start to sense that he can't win the nomination and go with Hillary?
It will be worth watching.