"Obama acted almost as the primaries were behind him, offering a case against the probable Republican nominee."

Adam Nagourney describes Barack Obama's speech in Madison last night, which turned out to be his victory speech as he won the Potomac primaries:

The sheer consistency of Mr. Obama’s victories over the last few days certainly suggests that many Democratic voters have gotten past whatever reservations they might have had about his electability or his qualifications to be president.

Mr. Obama, in his victory speech in Madison, Wis., acted almost as the primaries were behind him, offering a case against the probable Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, as he spoke disparagingly of “Bush-McCain Republicans.” It amounted to a preview of what an Obama-McCain race might be like, and it reduced Mrs. Clinton, at least for one night, to the role of bystander.

“John McCain is an American hero,” Mr. Obama said before a huge, cheering crowd. “We honor his service to our nation. But his priorities don’t address the real problems of the American people, because they are bound to the failed policies of the past.”

So we know the theme of his fall campaign: Honor McCain but label him as "the past." Hillary Clinton can't make that argument. But there must be a corresponding theme for McCain.

Here's the local angle on the Madison speech in the Madison newspaper. Excerpt:

Obama came into the brightly lit arena shaking hands all around as loud music blared. The mostly student crowd was on its feet after waiting, in most cases, more than two hours for him to show up.

"This is how you guys do it in Madison?" Obama said, with an awkward pause before the name of the city. He said he was proud of Doyle's support and thanked Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett for driving to Madison. He twice botched Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's name while thanking him for endorsing him Tuesday.