Tuesday's primary results made winners of Sen. John McCain, who clinched the Republication nomination, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose campaign had been on the brink of elimination. A winner of a different sort was Pennsylvania, where the political battle now moves and the nation's attention now turns.

Disappointed were Sen. Barack Obama, who had hoped to ice the Democratic nomination this week, and Americans who had hoped that Super Tuesday II would put an end to the seemingly endless primary-caucus whirlwind.

Up for grabs this time were delegates from Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont. Mr. McCain took all four states and pushed himself over the top in terms of delegates needed to gain the GOP nomination. He will now need to turn to the challenge of choosing a running mate. Factors, in addition to competence, will include age balance, to offset his own 71 years, and some deference to Republicans who do not find Mr. McCain consistently conservative enough.

On the Democratic side, Tuesday's results showed that, despite Mr. Obama's seeming engine of momentum, the two-way race is still very much on. He took Vermont and still has more delegates than Mrs. Clinton. She won in Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas.

The danger now for the Democrats is that teeth will be bared to a greater degree in the competition between the two senators. Both have had their paint scratched in recent days as the campaign got more pointed. If the Democrats wish to elect the next president, defeating Mr. McCain along the way, the skirmishes between their two final candidates must not be so vicious that they make the eventual nominee unelectable. After all, there's no need to hand the Republicans too many armor-piercing shells.

Pennsylvanians also won big even though Tuesday's action was elsewhere. It had appeared that the state's late April 22 primary would have all the significance of a late-season Pirates game. Now the primary will be critical for the Democrats. The state's voters will be courted, as were those in Ohio and Texas, now that Pennsylvania delegates will be crucial in helping to determine the outcome of the nomination.

This is a good thing, even given the sometimes ephemeral nature of campaign pledges. The problems confronting Pennsylvanians will get plenty of attention by the candidates and the state will get to sit in the nation's political front row for the next seven weeks. Enjoy the close-up.