Now that the dust has settled and Hillary Clinton believes she can win the nomination, some lifelong Democrats are getting very worried about a possible fracturing of the party. Barack Obama also believes he can win and hold onto his delegate lead until the convention in Denver at the end of August.

That means there's no bend. Both candidates are going for the gold. And if the earth is scorched, so be it.

FOX News analyst Karl Rove, who will be here Friday night, has said that the tight race is a bad thing for John McCain because all the focus on Obama and Clinton takes McCain out of the public eye.

Well, I respectfully disagree with Mr. Rove. McCain needs a breather. And he can use the months before the convention to raise money and organize his state-by-state campaigns.

Americans know who John McCain is. Right now, he has to get his organization straight. The policy stuff can wait until fall.

As we reported last night, if you check out the left-wing blogs there are vicious postings directed at both Obama and Clinton. It's liberals bashing fellow liberals. So no matter who eventually wins, there will be bad feelings. There will be symbolic blood.

Then there is the race factor. If Barack Obama is ahead in elected delegates and the popular vote come convention time, and the nomination is denied him, race will come into question. No doubt about it.

So while the Democrats are obviously making big news, and Americans are very interested in the contest, those old, unintended consequences are hovering above the proceedings.

If I'm a Republican, I can use all the uncertainty to get stronger. If I'm Democrat, I'd better be careful. This is a vote unlike any other, packed with emotion and high-profile personalities. This is not your father's primary season.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

Former pro football star Jim Kelly's son Hunter died at 8 years old from a disease of the nervous system. Had that condition been pinpointed at birth, Hunter might be alive today. So Jim Kelly is trying to get mandatory baby screening laws passed so each infant would be medically examined before leaving the hospital.

Often parents don't even know their babies have life-threatening situations, and Mr. Kelly is a patriot for trying to do this. You can reach him at HuntersHope.org.

On the pinhead front, it's hard to believe, but Al Franken, aka Stuart Smalley, is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota. But there may be a problem.

New York state officials say Franken owes $25,000 because he didn't pay workman's comp for employees of his corporation for three years. Franken says it's all a misunderstanding, but that's not what New York officials say. They claim Franken ignored them for years.

The irony of this is that Franken is a big tax-and-spend guy who says he's looking out for the folks. But apparently not the working folks. Pinhead.

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads and Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com