by Michael H. Cottman and Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com

Black political observers said Tuesday that despite Hillary Clinton’s convincing but largely symbolic victory in the West Virginia primary, Barack Obama is still on track to become the nation’s first African American Democratic presidential nominee.

"Barack Obama’s decision to move on to the general election is his signal that the nomination is his, and it’s time to move on without saying it," Peter C. Groff, a Colorado state senator, publisher of Blackpolicy.org and executive director of the Center for African American Policy at the University of Denver, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Tuesday.

"It is a great political move and allows the party to advance, but also allows Hillary Clinton to phase out her effort," Groff said. "The move also allows him to test fall themes and messages before the American people tune in."

Clinton, who won 67 percent of the vote in West Virginia Tuesday versus Obama’s 26 percent, expected a big victory but had little hope it would alter the presidential race, with frontrunner Obama already focusing on the general election. Only five Democratic primaries remain, and pollsters say it’s mathematically impossible for Clinton to catch or overtake Obama. More troubling, Clinton’s campaign is $20 million in debt.

Still, she told a rally in West Virginia Tuesday night that she is moving forward, saying she is the strongest candidate and would be the strongest president.

"I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard," Clinton told a cheering crowd. "This race isn’t over yet. Neither of us has the total delegates it takes to win. ... The White House is won in the swing states. And I am winning the swing states. With your help, I am ready to go head-to-head with John McCain."

Meanwhile, Obama has picked up 26 superdelegates in the past week. He’s now poised to close in on 2,025--the total number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination--in the next three weeks.

His wave of superdelegate endorsements puts Obama within reach of the Democratic presidential nomination by the end of the primary season on June 3, even if he loses half of the remaining five contests.

Craig Kirby, a Democratic political strategist, said he believes the superdelegates are listening to the voices and, seemingly, the will of the people.

"They are making both rational and prudent decisions that they believe will change the course America is currently headed," Kirby told BlackAmericaWeb.com Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Obama conceded defeat in advance, looking ahead to the Oregon primary later in the month and the campaign against McCain, the Republican nominee.

"This is our chance to build a new majority of Democrats and Independents and Republicans who know that four more years of George Bush just won’t do," he said in remarks prepared for an evening appearance in Missouri, which looms as a battleground state in the fall. "This is our moment to turn the page on the divisions and distractions that pass for politics in Washington."