In a speech before her West Virginia supporters after a resounding win Tuesday, Hillary Clinton said she’s the stronger Democrat to compete against Republicans in November. Is this true? And should Barack Obama be worried?

Clinton has faced calls to drop out of the Democratic race as she trails Obama in pledged delegates, superdelegates, states won and total votes cast this primary season. Her campaign is also $20 million in the hole.

Nevertheless, there is no mistaking the West Virginia primary - it was a rout. Clinton racked up 67 percent of the vote to Obama’s 26, and garnered nearly 150,000 more votes than the front-running Illinois Senator.

It was a clean sweep for Hillary Clinton in West Virginia counties.

The largest margins, as expected, came from the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder. Among white voters without a college degree, Hillary Clinton won by 50 points. Among whites making less than $30,000 a year? 60 points.

An emboldened Clinton claimed momentum from this Appalachian landslide, but despite all the bravado, Tuesday’s primary did not alter the dynamics of the Democratic race; Barack Obama’s lead still looks insurmountable.

However, as Rudy Giuliani can attest, losses sure can make a politician look like, well, a loser. One can’t help but worry that Obama’s struggles with certain voters suggest future problems for him come November.

It’s a bit of a stretch to assume this, as Barack Obama won’t be running against a Democrat in the general election. He’ll be running against John McCain.

Yet, at least to an extent, there’s an underlying issue in play here. It might have a lot to do with, you know, the taboo subject matter Bill Clinton shamelessly hinted at back in South Carolina:

Barack Obama is black. Most Americans are not.

Exit polls in West Virginia showed that one out of four Hillary Clinton voters saw race as an important factor in their vote. One in four!

These are just the ones actually admitting it, too. They don’t even feel inclined to pretend it’s because he’s 46 or (quote-unquote) elitist!

The racism issue has not been explored much this campaign season, but is certainly lingering, and is not unique to the people of West Virginia, as this disturbing Washington Post piece recently outlined.

Of course, there are plenty of voters - most, we would hope - who don’t mind that Obama is black. If Obama can do even a little bit better than John Kerry did among whites in 2004, and generate huge levels of African-American turnout, we will be looking at the next President of the United States.

The million-dollar question is whether Obama can pull that off - and if it is even possible for him to increase his chances among voters who do think about his race… but just might be persuaded to vote for him anyway.