In case there is any confusion, allow me to underscore the point I was making in my post "The victory Barack Obama should declare tomorrow." As the title of the post implies, I believe Barack could make several different declarations of victory tomorrow. Here are three notable ones:

• Barack could say he has won the nomination. (Problem is...he hasn't. He won't formally be the nominee until August, just like McCain won't be the GOP nominee until September.)
• Barack could say he is the presumptive nominee. (This would be the same as saying, in all likelihood he will be the nominee. He could say this, but I'm not sure what it would get him, since just about everybody already considers him to be the presumptive nominee.)
• Barack could say that he has won the primaries and caucuses, whether or not you include Florida. (This doesn't mean he is the nominee, but it does mean that he is the choice of the people to be the nominee.)

The point of my post is that he should declare the the third type of victory. The reason why this is important is that it establishes his legitimacy, which, as we have seen, some of his political opponents have tried to call into question.

It is true that most people think that once a candidate has won the primaries and caucuses, they should get the nomination, and I agree with that. Moreover, I believe that once a candidate wins the primaries and caucuses, as a practical matter, he or she is all but guaranteed the nomination.

I'm not saying Barack should link his victory in the primaries and caucuses to that next step; people like me and you can do that. What I am saying is that tomorrow it is a fact that he will be the winner of the primaries and caucuses -- with or without Michigan and Florida -- and it is important to mark that significant milestone with a victory.

It is not an acceptance speech -- that comes in August. But we can't afford to let this moment tomorrow pass without recognizing it, because it is the reason why Barack Obama will the nominee of the Democratic Party.