WASHINGTON _ Barack Obama, fresh off taking 13 states in Super Tuesday voting,  prepared to meet reporters shortly just as Hillary Clinton’s advisers invited to political journalists for a phone conversation.

Both sides will be presenting the rosiest view of last night and both have a case to make in a campaign likely to go on well into the spring.

For the record, Clinton, who won California last night, leads in delegates now with 845 with Obama close behind at 765, according to the Associated Press. (Of course, you might be a tad suspicious of the AP considering their bungled call in Missouri last night.)

But what is occurring is a remarkable and unpredicted battle between two talented Democrats that is likely to go on now for a month or more — perhaps even to the party convention in Denver.

Look for Obama to gain even more momentum that he already has in the days ahead. By our count, he leads in polls in six or seven of the next ten contests.

Much less spin is needed for Republicans this morning now that John McCain has established himself as the clear and undisputed frontrunner by virtue of his big-state victories from New York to California.

Mitt Romney is meeting with advisers today where the subject no doubt will be how much more of his family fortune he’ll plow into this contest now that donations from contributors are likely to dry up.

Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee, by virtue of his strong showing in southern contests yesterday, has punched his ticket to the Republican convention in St. Paul. Conservatives will be pressing McCain to pick Huckabee as his running mate, though betting on that prospect might not be wise.

For McCain, the next big day will occur not in the next voting contest but in front of a huge gathering of conservatives tomorrow in D.C. Look for conciliatory gestures on his part — and a few boos.