It wasn’t just Barack Obama’s victories yesterday in the Chesapeake Primary, it was the crushing way he won: 64-35 percent in Virginia; 59-37 percent in Maryland; and 75-24 percent in the District of Columbia. This, of course, comes after his weekend sweep in several key states.

Obama leapt into the delegate lead even with Clinton’s superdelegate support. More of Clinton’s staff jumped ship (a deputy campaign manager and two online folks) and things were beginning to look bleak for the New York senator.

We’ve learned this cycle to respect her resilience, which she’ll have to demonstrate soon like never before with the number of contests growing fewer. Her best bet clearly is Texas on March 4, where there are 228 delegates at stake and where she can display one of her primary strengths, strong support from the nation’s fast-growing Hispanic electorate. 

There’s hope among Clinton backers that the Longhorn State will become Get Well City.

The Obama folks were crowing this morning, as you might expect, yet at the same time subdued and focused on the contests ahead. They were even talking about fighting it out in places like Guam and Puerto Rico. By their count, Illinois’ junior senator leads now in pledged delegates by 136.

“It’s a very large number given how many contests have occurred this year,” David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, told reporters, adding his belief that it’s “next to impossible” for Clinton to significantly cut into that lead.

As the Obama campaign sees it, she would have to win the remaining contests in a landslide – by 25-30 percentage points. Plouffe observed that Obama has won 14 states by over 20 points and thus far Clinton has won by such a margin in just two, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

“Unless those contests are splitting 2-1, it’s very difficult to see a scenario in which that pledged delegate lead is eroded,” he said.

What about Clinton’s lead in the unpledged delegates – the 796 party officials and party insiders who potentially could swing the contest one way or another?

“We have believed all along that the pledged delegate leader will be the nominee of the party,” Plouffe said.

Stay tuned for the Clinton campaign’s take.