AP Reports that Obama Clinches the Nomination

This may qualify for a Captain Obvious Award among those following the race and still trying to get through a certain Vanity Fair article, but the Associated Press is reporting that Obama has the delegates to claim victory in the Democratic presidential nomination race.

Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday after a grueling marathon, based on an Associated Press tally . . . based on public declarations from delegates as well as from another 15 who have confirmed their intentions to the AP. It also included 11 delegates Obama was guaranteed as long as he gained 30 percent of the vote in South Dakota and Montana later in the day. It takes 2,118 delegates to clinch the nomination. - David Espo and Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writers