17

17.

That's the final difference in pledged delegates between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Primaries are like horseshoes and hand grenades -- close counts. Plus, if she's close, the girl should win.

Monday night of the convention, a small group of us who had been involved in the nominating petition were sitting on the patio of an intimate Italian restaurant perplexed at the other-worldly mood of the convention.

We could all fit, because alas, PumaPAC was not as large as anticipated.

We could not put our finger on it (and didn't realize just how close Saturday's Credentials Committee math was), but it was as if the entire convention was just holding its breath. There was no typical exuberance. The crowd milling through the Pepsi Center lacked the electricity that even small state conventions have.

Could it have been their secret hope that Our Girl would pull it out in spite of herself? I'm not going to jump to any conclusions, but...

Something big was happening, but none of us, including seasoned veterans from the Clinton/Gore era, could figure it out.

But now, at the end of October, all has become clear.