In brief:

Hillary did as much as anyone could have expected--and much, much more.

Will it turn the tide of battle in favor of Obama?

This is impossible to say.

I had an idea last week. What if Obama had come into the convention and asked the delegates to pick his vice president? Think of the symbolism. A massive dose of energizing democracy in the Democratic Party. Of course, the convocation would have chosen Hill—and the hearts of the faithful would have soared.

Thinking about last night, you can just imagine the tidal wave of emotion that would have swept the hall with the ascension of Mrs. Clinton. Now that would have produced a bounce.

But that is not what happened, and there is nothing more irrelevant that counter-factual history.

It is Biden.

The good news for Hillary: she took the mound in a tough spot, threw hard (squelching a dangerous rally for the other team), and proved herself a team player. If Obama wins we will look back at last night as a turning point. If Obama loses, the defeat will rest squarely on his shoulders.