Hillary in Houston (15), originally uploaded by Hillary Clinton.

[Note: Today at 1 p.m. I'll be taping a segment on ABC News Now analyzing last night's results, the issues that propelled Hillary to victory, and where the campaigns go from here. Paul Krugman of the New York Times will join me for the discussion. I'll post the clip when I get my hands on it.]

Sen. John McCain scored two victories last night. In addition to clinching the Republican nomination, McCain can thank Sen. Hillary Clinton for keeping the Democrat race alive for another seven weeks until Pennsylvania votes on April 22.

The protracted fight gives McCain time to focus on fundraising, build his organization with the Republican National Committee and watch Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama continue their war of words over trade, health care and Iraq. Republicans ought to be giddy this morning.

After last night’s lopsided win in Ohio and narrow victory in Texas, Hillary bounced back with the kind of force that you’d expect from a political fighter named Clinton. Although some fellow conservatives called me crazy for casting my vote for Obama in the Virginia primary, I think last night’s results emphasize why it was so important to give Obama that boost. Without his string of 12 consecutive victories — and the inroads he made with white working-class voters in Virginia and Wisconsin — he might not have survived yesterday’s losses.

Although Obama still holds a lead in delegates, he’s clearly wounded. I doubt he’ll be able to win the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, meaning he’ll have to rely on victories in Wyoming, Mississippi and other small states to regain momentum. Attention will again turn to the super delegates who will be the party’s kingmakers.

Republicans couldn’t ask for a better scenario. Consider this from today’s Washington Post:

Those seven weeks will cost Obama at least $10 million, and possibly much more, campaign aides say, as he battles a rejuvenated Clinton who will have every incentive to try to force him into a major mistake.

Obama aides also expect to take concentrated fire from McCain (Ariz.) and his Republican allies, who have already begun raising questions about the 46-year-old Democratic senator’s credibility, authenticity and even his patriotism.

For months before his victory in Iowa, doubters questioned whether Obama had the stomach to deliver the blows necessary to wear down Clinton’s advantages. Now, the question is whether he can take a punch — “and you know they will be coming,” said former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack (D), a Clinton supporter.

During his 2004 race for U.S. Senate, Obama drew on Muhammad Ali’s famous fight against Sonny Liston for inspiration. This time around he might want to pick another Ali fight, the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman, best remembered for Ali’s rope-a-dope strategy to wear down Foreman.

I know I’ll be enjoying the next seven weeks. If the past few were any indication, Democrats are bound to inflict wounds that will be hard to undo come November. More attacks against free trade, new big-government solutions for the economy, and irrational ideas about Iraq are a Republican’s dream.