UPDATED BREAKING NEWS: Obama and McCain Win Big

The race for the nomination in both Parties seems to be edging closer to a final determination.

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - Senator Barack Obama has once again defeated Senator Hilary Clinton, making it 10 in a row.

The first major victory was in the State of Wisconsin. Once again, Obama showed surprisingly strong support across constituencies which formerly seemed to favor Mrs. Clinton.This was a major defeat for the Clinton campaign.Obama won by a very large margin.

Next, in the wee hours of the morning on the mainland, the results of the Hawaii caucus were determined. The people of Hawaii gave a huge "Aloha" to Obama's message of change in a sweeping victory.They showed up in record numbers, breaking records. The "Aloha" Sate made it 10 in a row for the apparently unstoppable Democratic candidate.

The open primary rules in Wisconsin allowed independent voters to choose which Party they cast their vote for and Obama once again proved that his appeal reaches beyond registered Democratic voters. He received 60% of the votes of those who in exit polls declared themselves to be independents.

Speaking to over 20,000 screaming supporters in a massive rally in Texas, where he hopes to once again upset Hilary Clinton, he said "Houston, I think we've achieved lift-off here....The change we seek is still months and miles away and we need the good people of Texas to help us get there."

In a speech which lasted 45 minutes, Obama laid out policy proposals and made it unmistably clear that he intends to be the Nominee of the Democratic Party.There is little doubt that he is now the presumptive nominee and most pundits, throughout their long night of commentary, seemed to all agree on the near inevitability of an Obama nomination in the Democratic Party.

On the Republican side, the frontrunner for the nomination, Senator John McCain, won by a substantial margin over the former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee in Wisconsin. Then, he did the same in Washington State. His only remaining rival on the Republican side vowed to stay in the race to ensure that his principled committment to the pro-life and pro-marriage cause remained in the race.Huckabee supports a Constitutional Amendment to protect all human life from conception and a Constitutional Amendment to defend Marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman.

A happy McCain thanked Wisconsin voters after the announcement of his victory, telling a relatively small group of supporters, "I will be our party's nominee for President of the United States."

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He went on to say that these results had brought him to a point "when even a superstitious naval aviator can claim with confidence and humility that I will be our party's nominee for president of the United States".

The contrast between the small group gathered with McCain, with his subdued comments and manner of delivery and the exuberant crowd gathered with Obama and his 45 minute speech, was drastic. Most commentators pointed out the obvious. This will be a very interesting general election between two very different candidates.

McCain clearly seems to have accepted the growing likelihood that Obama will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. In his victory speech he seemed to be addressing the Illinois Senator with words which may be an indication of a theme for the Fall campaign:

"I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure that Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change."

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