Establishment Candidates McCain, Clinton will be Nominees

It is clear after tonight that the establishment candidates will be the nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties. Both McCain and Hillary are ahead nationally and in the important states. Once again, connections have won out over those who are willing to challenge the system, even if that challenge is superficial:

Republican John McCain called his victory in South Carolina's presidential primary on Saturday evidence that his campaign "can carry right through" Florida into the giant round of caucuses and primaries on Feb. 5. "I know it's not easy," he told The Associated Press, "and we've got a long way to go."

South Carolina was where McCain's presidential prospects died eight years ago, and he savored the victory this time.

"It just took us awhile, that's all," he said in the interview. "Eight years is not a long time."

This time, he said, "It sure was nice to have a lot of our old friends be happier that we won."

Asked if he was now the front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain demurred.

"I don't know," he said, "we like to run from behind."

Still, he expressed optimism going forward.

"I'm very confident that we'll win in Florida," he said.

The Clinton dirty tricks succeeded:

Whites and women helped Hillary Rodham Clinton to victory while blacks overwhelmingly backed Barack Obama in Nevada's Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday, a survey found. In the state's Republican caucuses, one in four participants were Mormons and nearly all of them supported Mitt Romney as he romped in a barely contested race.

Meanwhile, early results of exit polling in South Carolina's Republican primary indicated older voters, conservatives and white evangelical Christians were turning out heavily. Veterans were about a quarter of the overall vote.