It’s been a tedious number of months, and even the most enthused election nerds among us are starting to cry, “enough!” Indeed, I myself have even avoided writing about the race, thinking that, if I didn’t acknowledge it, the mindless, droning thing might just go away.

Alas, millions of dollars, a number of missteps and one John Edwards Obama endorsement later, it appears that Sen. Hillary Clinton is nearing the end of her hard-fought struggle for the nomination. And though there has been the tendency to prematurely and triumphantly announce the securing of the nomination by either candidate, the recent flood of superdelegates announcing their support for Obama, the demographic profile of her recent supporters and Edwards’ choice to endorse Obama — which is worth its weight in gold — are all convincing evidence that Obama has obtained the nomination.

Granted, Clinton will likely rough it out a bit longer. Her campaign, though in debt and faltering in momentum, is a prime platform for reshaping her public image and carving out a new role in the party. It’s highly doubtful she would run as vice president, and the prospect of taking up her husband’s role as author and roaming lecturer are dim. Having never actually been president, it would likely be a future of insignificance.

Rather, in her remaining campaign, Clinton will likely mend ties, build congeniality and test run the type of politician she plans to be after the electoral votes have been counted in November. The near future also provides Clinton with a valuable opportunity to earn back some the $11 million or so she has lent to her own campaign in her bid for the nomination.

However dull the process has become, it is important that both camps in the Democratic primary give the contest for the nomination sufficient time to come to its conclusion. After the Indiana and North Carolina primaries on May 6, Obama aides hastened to declare the magnitude of his North Carolina win and the relative insignificance of Clinton’s win in Indiana — as though her win was of a much smaller margin than had been predicted for the state.

While the politicking and spinning of results is to be expected, if the nominee is seen as being democratically undeserving of the nomination, it could dampen Democratic support in November.

It would be wise for the Obama campaign to resist claiming victory too soon. Rather, by waiting, the Obama camp will highlight its legitimacy.