The results are in from yesterday's Democratic primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, and it's hard to see how they could be read as anything but a resounding victory for the American Dream Candidate -- Senator Barack Obama.

In North Carolina, Obama outperformed all expectations to rack up a fourteen-point victory, winning the state by more than 200,000 votes. And in Indiana, where we've been told for weeks that the demographics favor Senator Hillary Clinton, Obama came within a hair's breadth -- 2% of the vote -- of winning as well.

Last night's results strengthened Senator Obama's claim to the nomination from just about every angle:

• Pledged delegates: The victory in North Carolina will add to Obama's already-strong lead in pledged delegates, and since Democratic delegates are awarded proportionally rather than winner-take-all, the close decision in Indiana will mean that both candidates will win roughly the same number of delegates from that state -- and that means that Obama will maintain his lead of a little more than 150 pledged delegates. There are not enough delegates still undecided for Senator Clinton to overcome this lead.
• Popular vote: While Obama has been leading in the overall popular vote for most of this race, his loss in Pennsylvania narrowed the margin somewhat. Yesterday, though, his big margin in North Carolina allowed him to regain a commanding lead in popular votes.
• States won: Obama has been leading in this metric for some time now, and since last night gave one state to each candidate, that hasn't changed. By my count, Obama has won 27 states -- 28 if you count Texas (in which he won the most overall delegates, thanks to a strong performance in the caucus segment of their election) -- compared to 15 for Clinton.
• "He only wins caucuses": Fifteen of the states Obama has won to date are primary states. That's actually one more than the same as Clinton, who has had fourteen fifteen victories in primaries to date. (Whoops, forgot to include Clinton's win in the Texas primary in my original count. Sorry about that.)

Keith Olbermann had probably the best summary of events while helming MSNBC's election coverage last night; quoting Sir Winston Churchill, he said that "this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

UPDATE (10:54AM): Official statement on yesterday's results from Greg Tarpinian, Executive Director of Change to Win:

“Sen. Barack Obama’s surprisingly large victory in North Carolina and strong showing in Indiana have brought the Democratic Party one step closer to selecting Sen. Obama as our nominee for president. With only six contests remaining, it has become clear that Sen. Obama is the choice of more voters, in more states, and continues to hold a commanding lead among pledged delegates.

“The aggressive education and mobilization efforts of the Change to Win unions made a critical difference in narrowing the margin of Clinton victory in the Hoosier State and produced a solid block of delegates in Indiana and North Carolina. Change to Win will continue to support Sen. Obama in the remaining primary elections to help make him the next president of the United States of America.”

And speaking of those aggressive education and mobilization efforts, here's some details on the hard work that CtW members did for Obama on the ground in Indiana:

Change to Win members are waging an aggressive effort to help Barack Obama make a strong showing in the Hoosier State. With nearly 30,000 members in Indiana, Change to Win unions have put in place an extensive campaign to turn out members and working family voters for Obama and to help restore the American Dream for America’s workers.

In Indiana:

• More than 1,500 Change to Win members and volunteers working to contact voters door-to-door or over the phone
• More than 60,000 doors knocked and hundreds of thousands of direct mail pieces sent to Democratic households throughout the state
• Hundreds of Change to Win members and volunteers conducting aggressive labor-to-labor canvass programs in Northwest Indiana, South Bend and Indianapolis
• Recruiting hundreds of volunteers and helping manage key get-out-the-vote staging locations, including Northwest Indiana and Indianapolis
• UFCW, UNITE HERE, SEIU and Teamsters members conducting member-to-member education and mobilization efforts at worksites throughout the state
• Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa campaigned in Gary, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis speaking to members about jobs, the economy, the nation’s failed trade policies, and to turn out the vote for Obama