Peder Zane says the primary was much ado about nothing.

The N&O ideas reporter notes on his blog, What's the Big Idea, that North Carolina hasn't gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976.

Looking at the results of John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, he says it's unlikely that the Democratic nominee — either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton — will win much more against John McCain.

"The fact is, Obama has wracked up his lead in Republican strongholds like North Carolina that he has little chance of carrying against John McCain," he writes. "Clinton, by contrast, has done much better in the states Democrats must win in the fall."

By Zane's math, Clinton has won 146 electors in eight formerly blue states, while Obama has won 82 electors in nine states and the District of Columbia.

"The fact remains, though she is behind in the count, Clinton has done better where it counts," he writes.