The Democratic presidential race is all but over.

Barring a cataclysmic change of events, Barack Obama will win enough pledged and superdelegates to win the party’s nomination. The only real issue is whether he and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton leave the race with their futures — and their party — intact.

For Obama, that means winning with class so he endears himself to Clinton’s supporters — letting her leave the race on her own terms, without gloating or appearing to push her out with any disrespect. And Clinton has to be careful not to damage Obama and make her legacy a weakened Democratic nominee in the fall.

No matter what the New York senator and former first lady wants to do next — angle to be Obama’s running mate, make another presidential run or ascend one day to Senate Democratic leader, it’s in her interest to leave the 2008 race in a position of strength. She’s doing a bang-up job of that.

Even as Obama is steadily climbing toward the 2,026 delegates he needs to secure the nomination — he was fewer than 60 away after Tuesday night’s split decision in Kentucky and Oregon — Clinton has defeated him in five of the last seven primaries, including big states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Her decisive victories in Kentucky and West Virginia showed she has a durable base of support, particularly among white, working-class voters and older women. Obama can’t just discount those voters as he moves on to the general election.

Kentucky Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Moore, one of roughly 200 superdelegates yet to be claimed by either candidate, said the Clintons will always have a loyal following in her state because voters there remember the economic good times of the 1990s.

“Clinton supporters need to get to know Barack Obama, get to understand that he stands for many of the same principles as Senator Clinton,” Moore said.

Obama offered his own olive branch Tuesday night, praising Clinton for her pioneering candidacy and acknowledging the millions who have voted for her.

“No matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and your daughters will come of age, and for that we are grateful to her,” the Illinois senator said. “Some may see the millions upon millions of votes cast for each of us as evidence that our party is divided, but I see it as proof that we have never been more energized and united in our desire to take this country in a new direction.”

Steve Grossman, a former DNC chairman and Clinton fundraiser, said Obama is “wisely being patient,” not pushy, about pursuing Clinton backers.

“The art of the appropriate is not always present in politics,” he added. “It means you show respect, keep your distance, and understand what people are going through.”

Still, neither candidate has moved flawlessly toward reconciliation.

Even after it was clear Obama was on a path to the nomination, Clinton hasn’t been able to resist the occasional jab such as criticizing his health care plan. And in a newspaper interview following her West Virginia win last week, Clinton noted she was beating Obama among “working, hardworking Americans, white Americans” — a characterization that drew widespread criticism. Clinton later said she regretted the comment.

For his part, Obama has taken the risk of appearing to trivialize some of the final primaries, choosing to shadowbox with Republican John McCain in general election swing states rather than focus solely on the remaining Democratic contests. He’s already making plans to take over the Democratic National Committee.