Did Obama quietly slip over the top today?

Or is it a media-driven effort to push Hillary Clinton out, finally? Something did change today, whether it was perception or reality.

The headlines have been turning over rapidly all day, but they’re all variations on this one. It started a couple of days after the North Carolina/Indiana primaries, picked up momentum Friday when Obama began picking up more declared superdelegates, and turned a corner today.

Barack Obama has taken the lead in superdelegate endorsements for the first time, marking a potential turning point in the endgame of the Democratic primary.

Obama picked up five superdelegates Saturday, after rounding up nine such endorsements the day before. The gains erased Hillary Clinton’s once-imposing lead among the party officials and insiders who play a key part in selecting the nominee.

Now there seems to be a rush to get in line behind the presumptive nominee, which Obama appears to be today more than anytime before now. Question is, does this really mean the end of Hillary Clinton’s possibilities, no matter how remote they were before? Or is that an orchestrated perception?

As is often the case with media and politics, perception becomes reality. Obama is helping drive that perception by shifting his campaign strategy. He’s now running against John McCain and it feels like the race for the general election.

Training his sights on presumptive GOP nominee McCain, Obama even said Saturday he would be happy to meet the Arizona senator for joint town hall meetings, after spending weeks refusing to debate Clinton.

“That’s a great idea,” he said. “Obviously we would have to think through the logistics on that. But to the extent that I, should I be the nominee, if I have the opportunity to debate substantive issues before the voters with John McCain that’s something that I am going to welcome. “

Won’t we all.