Is it too early to call?

Early Wednesday morning, NBC's Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert was asked by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann if the race had just ended Tuesday night.

Russert replied: "We now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be, and no one is going to dispute it, Keith."

"Sometimes in campaigns the candidate is the last to recognize the best timing," Russert continued, likening the experience to being on life support. "Once they start removing the systems, you really have no choice," he said.

Russert cited the Clinton's campaign's huge debt, and the $6.4 million loan that the Clintons made to the campaign recently, as evidence that Bill and Hillary had to decide whether they wanted to continue throwing their money into a losing effort.

Over on CNN, former Clinton White House aide David Gergen said "they know" the race is over. "Just watching Chelsea there on the replay, you could see the anguish in her face. I think the Clinton people know the game is almost up."

Even the conservatives got the picture. The right-leaning Drudge Report ran a photo of Obama with the headline "The Nominee." Fox News host Chris Wallace said, "I think there's an increasing presumption tonight that Obama's going to be the nominee."

And it continued on the other networks. Bob Schieffer on the CBS "Early Show" said "this race is over." Even George Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton White House aide who now anchors ABC's Sunday morning news show, appeared on "Good Morning America" and said "this nomination fight is over."

The tabloids got straight to the point. The New York Post condensed the news to a photo of Clinton and a one-word headline: "Toast!" But the New York Daily News held out for the possibility of divine intervention with its headline, "Hil Needs a Miracle."

Unfortunately for Clinton, her supporters didn't provide much help either. Clinton backer George McGovern -- the Democrats' 1972 presidential nominee -- quickly jumped shipped and swam over to the Obama boat Wednesday morning. Another supporter, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), openly admitted that she didn't know how it was "doable" for Clinton to win at this point. And Clinton's own New York colleague Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said it was all in the candidate's hands now. "It's her decision to make and I'll accept what decision she makes," said Schumer.

Other observers pronounced the death of the Clinton campaign effort. Daily Voice editor Keith Boykin wrote what he called an "obituary" for the Clinton campaign on Wednesday, and Daily Voice contributor Jasmyne Cannick posted a funeral program for Clinton on her web site, complete with the song "Hard To Say Goodbye to Yesterday" by Boyz II Men.

But there were some defenders, of course. The Clinton campaign itself vowed to fight on in spite of the obstacles, and the candidate declared Wednesday that she was still in the race to the end. "I'm staying in this race until there's a nominee," Clinton told reporters in West Virginia.

And Clinton also got support from an unexpected ally. The newest contributor to The Daily Voice, nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, encouraged Hillary Clinton to "take it to the finish line."