The nomination race that just wouldn't quit

WASHINGTON -- After nearly a year, the end of the presidential primaries is in sight.

Over the next few days, people in Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana will vote. Superdelegates who have been silent will announce their intentions. Barack Obama will likely clinch the Democratic nomination, ready to take on Republican John McCain.

"The country wants a summer vacation," said Jenny Backus, a Democratic analyst not working for either campaign. "We're now at the moment where the country would be perfectly happy to have these two nominees go away and choose their vice presidents."

Analysts have been saying that it takes 2,026 delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. As of Friday, Obama had 1,984, Clinton 1,782.

This weekend, though, the Democratic Party's rules committee will decide whether to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan, which lost their spots for moving their primaries up to January in violation of party rules. Adding delegates from Florida and Michigan could increase the magic number.

Even so, there's little suspense about how all of this will end: It just means Obama may have to win the support of a few extra "superdelegates." Those commitments, already coming in for him at a steady rate, are expected to cascade his way once the primary voting ends Tuesday.

In the face of it all, Clinton refuses to bow out. On Friday, she cast the end of the primaries as a time that party officials and other superdelegates could start breaking her way.

The Democratic race has dominated the political landscape so long that it's easy to forget the Republicans had a hard-fought primary contest, too.