Washington is reeling over the news that Senator Ted Kennedy is suffering from a malignant brain tumour. Tests revealed the tumour after the Senator was admitted to hospital over the weekend after suffering from a seizure. Politicians from Capitol Hill and the campaign trail have expressed their remorse (watch Democrat Senator Byrd’s emotional address to the Senate here.)  

But the grind goes on for Clinton and Obama as the results from the Kentucky and Oregon primaries roll in.

In Kentucky, CNN is reporting that Clinton beat Obama across all age groups, income groups and education levels. 89% of Tuesday’s voters in Kentucky were white, according to the exit polls.

But as we publish, Obama is claiming the majority of pledged delegates in Iowa, a symbolic bookend to his campaign, given that Iowa is the state that gave him his first surprise victory. He’s still tiptoeing around claiming outright victory — according to The New York Times, “Obama does not want to appear to be pushing Mrs. Clinton out of the race, preferring instead to treat her gracefully as a worthy Democratic fighter, not as a stubborn nemesis.”

But the underlying message from his camp is clear: this race is over. Now for the real fight.

Kennedy’s career. Though the White House eluded his grasp, Kennedy is considered one of the most effective legislators of the past few decades. Learn more about Kennedy. He had major roles in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, the Kennedy-Hatch Law of 1997 and two increases in the minimum wage. He endorsed Barack Obama for president before Super Tuesday’s primaries, support that was considered a boon for the candidate. — CNN

Did McCain Create an HDTV Monster? Marie Curie died from exposure to radium, her greatest discovery. Jim Fixx, who sold Americans on the health benefits of running, was killed by a heart attack at 52. To this roster of ironic demise we may soon add John McCain, the Senate’s pre-eminent champion of high-definition TV. — Timothy Noah, Slate

McCain’s vision for the court. Successful politicians know how to attract attention, and how to avoid it, so it’s worth noting that John McCain chose to give his speech about the future of the judiciary on May 6th, a day when the political world was preoccupied with the Democratic primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. It is significant, too, that Senator McCain spoke mainly in generalities, rather than about such specific issues as abortion, affirmative action, and the death penalty. But even if he hoped to sneak the speech past a distracted public, and have its coded references deciphered only by the activists who were its primary target, its message should not be lost on anyone. McCain plans to continue, and perhaps even accelerate, George W. Bush’s conservative counter-revolution at the Supreme Court. — Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker 

Why Hillary won’t, and shouldn’t, quit. Let me suggest that pride, honor and a sort of unforgiving toughness are not male or female qualities. They are the qualities of leaders. It’s hard to imagine Margaret Thatcher or Golda Meir or Indira Gandhi doing a Tammy Wynette — standin’ by their man. They might well have done so, but the reason we have a difficult time picturing such a thing is because they had leadership qualities that, whether male or female, suggest otherwise. Hillary Clinton is now exhibiting those leadership qualities. In rejecting the chorus of demands that she get out of the race, she is acting as any leader would. Take a tour of statues throughout the world, and while you will find plenty of historical figures who lost battles, you will find none to “A Gracious Loser.” As Vince Lombardi or Leo Durocher — both famous for mythical statements about winning and losing — could have told you, there is no such thing. You lose hard. You lose tough. You lose only when you are beat. — Richard Cohen, The Washington Post

Rove working for McCain? Fox News hosts routinely introduce Rove as a “former senior advisor to President Bush,” “the architect,” a “political wizard” and a “famed political consultant.” But never has he been introduced as he should be — as an informal advisor and maxed-out donor to John McCain’s presidential campaign.  — Salon