Oba-meter: February 26th

With the Republican nomination sewn up by John McCain, Westmonster moves its focus to the Democratic competition. We've outlined the 4 things Barack Obama needs to do in order to beat Hillary Clinton — sweep February's post-Super Tuesday contests, make no gaffes, win Ohio or Texas on March 4th, and make progress on superdelegates — and we'll be giving progress reports regularly, until the Democrats choose a nominee.

1. February sweep: Done. Obama comfortably won all states after Tuesday but before the end of February, most by a wide margin.

2. No gaffes: Obama's had no major slip-ups. The Clinton campaign is throwing anything at him they think will stick, and you never know what might do. But for now, Obama seems to be freezing out the press, and largely to his advantage. Clinton will surely try to trip Obama up in tonight's Ohio debate, likely the last between the two candidates.

3. Win Texas or Ohio: Clinton had led in all reputable polls in both states — until yesterday. A new CNN poll puts Obama up in Texas by 4 points, still within the margin of error, but a 6-point swing in his favour compared to last week's poll. In Ohio, a new poll puts him within the margin of error for the first time, impressive considering he was down 20 points two weeks ago. And nationally, polls have him pulling away from Hillary Clinton, including some that have him ahead by double digits.

4. Superdelegate race: There's been significant movement in Obama's favour since Super Tuesday, with Clinton's superdelegate lead shrinking by 27 over that period. Every day seems to see at least a few undecideds declaring for Obama, or Clinton superdelegates shifting.