March 4, 2008: Clinton survives in Ohio and Texas; McCain clinches as Huckabee withdraws.

MATTHEW YGLESIAS: It looks pretty clear that the NAFTA/Goolsbee/Canada imbroglio wound up hurting Barack Obama quite badly. And in many ways, deservedly so; it was an embarrassing and amateurish way for a campaign to behave. (March 5, 2008)

March 18, 2008: With the media obsessing over his pastor’s provocative comments, Obama delivers a speech on race in America.

ANDREW SULLIVAN: This searing, nuanced, gut-wrenching, loyal, and deeply, deeply Christian speech is the most honest speech on race in America in my adult lifetime. It is a speech we have all been waiting for, for a generation. Its ability to embrace both the legitimate fears and resentments of whites and the understandable anger and dashed hopes of many blacks was unique in recent American history.

June 3, 2008: Final primaries—Obama clinches the nomination, and the three candidates speak in turn on TV. Clinton drops out on June 7.

ANDREW SULLIVAN: If the contrast tonight between McCain and Obama holds for the rest of the campaign, McCain is facing a defeat of historic proportions.