Hillary Clinton's campaign really ended in North Carolina.
In a post-mortem in the Washington Post today, an unnamed Clinton adviser says that Barack Obama's 15-point win here sealed her fate:
Whatever slim hopes Clinton had for an improbable comeback died with the disappointing results in the last two big primaries of the campaign -- a narrower-than-hoped-for victory in Indiana and a double-digit loss in North Carolina -- and the commentary that accompanied them. When NBC's Tim Russert flatly declared the Democratic race over around midnight, one adviser recalled, "the air came out of the room."
The piece notes that Clinton soon pulled her negative ads and stopped criticizing Obama, and there was "a sense of resignation within the campaign."
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Re: Clinton's campaign ended in N.C.
June 5, 2008 - 1:51pm — liamSo, it ended less in North Carolina and more in a television studio in Washington DC on the night of the North Carolina primary after Hillary won Indiana by significantly less than she was predicted to.
If you look at this graphic from RCP, you can see clearly that the general public moved away from Sen Clinton after May 6th and the subsequent proclamation of finality my Mr. Russert and the rest of the chattering class.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/democratic_presidential_nomination-191.html