That, barring some incredible change, is the prospect after Bush and Gore crowned victories in the heaviest set of presidential primary elections in history by winning in California, the grand prize of the night and the season.

With victory in the GOP primary in California, and in Ohio and New York, Bush captured states Sen. John McCain had to win or lose his footing in the Republican campaign.

For Gore, it was an 11-primary sweep over the fallen challenge of Bill Bradley. "He won, I lost," Bradley conceded, saying he'd confer with advisors and supporters on Wednesday and then announce his plans, almost certainly ending his campaign.

Gore and Bush were piling up their leads in nominating delegates -- the California victory alone gained 162 for the governor. Democratic delegates were awarded in proportion to popular votes. Neither Gore nor Bush can mathematically clinch the nomination until later in the primary season. But the Super Tuesday victories erased any doubt that they will.

McCain said he will confer with his team to "reflect on the direction of our campaign," which is all but sure to be toward exiting. The Arizona senator said that whatever the decision, his crusade for political reform will not end.

Bush won seven primaries, and said he'd taken a huge step toward the nomination but did not consider it won yet. Still, he called it a national victory, and said "It's now time to start focusing on the main contest, which is winning the White House."

McCain carried four New England states, scoring only in the region where he got his political liftoff when he vaulted past Bush to start the season in New Hampshire, just five weeks ago.

McCain's victory there fueled a fierce Republican contest that turned harsh, personal and divisive, a split that could hurt the GOP unless it heals.

"I really do believe that it will come back together," said Michigan Gov. John Engler, a Bush ally who suffered with him two weeks ago when McCain won the primary there, boosted by crossover Democratic voters.

The GOP rivalry also was expensive, draining millions from the record treasury that once loomed as a major Bush advantage over Gore during the five months before the national party conventions.

While their cash reserves may be about even now, Bush is going after $10 million more, and Gore still faces spending restrictions that do not apply to the governor because he didn't accept federal campaign subsidies.

The candidates will start even after the conventions; each nominee gets $67.6 million in federal funds for the general election campaign. There's also a wild card: the $12.5 million available to the Reform Party nominee, with ex-Republican Pat Buchanan seeking that role and bankroll.

Bush already was talking party unity, praising McCain's campaign for recruiting waves of new voters.

"Governor Bush is a competitor but he doesn't take this personally," said Karl Rove, his chief strategist, as the Super Tuesday votes were counted.

Indeed, Engler said in an interview that he thinks McCain could wind up as vice presidential nominee on a Bush ticket. "If John McCain is willing to go, I think he's going to be right there at the top of the list," Engler said.

Bitter rivals have run together before.

But McCain's rhetoric could be an obstacle: His attack on two leading figures of the Christian conservative movement backfired and hurt him on Tuesday, according to Voter News Service exit polls. That is a part of the Republican base the party needs to hold in the fall.

Bradley telephoned Gore in Nashville to congratulate him, and the vice president responded with public praise for the man who'd once accused him of campaign lies.

"Tonight I salute Bill Bradley," Gore said, "... a good man for whom I have great respect."

Voter polls in Tuesday's primary states pointed to some vulnerabilities facing Bush. One voter in three questioned whether he had the knowledge required to serve effectively as president, an impression reflected in prior primary polls, and one that will burden him unless he can dispel it.

There also were signs that McCain may have, as he claimed, a broader appeal than Bush to voters Republicans will need against Gore. Nearly 20 percent of Republican voters on Tuesday said they would support Gore over Bush, twice as many as said they would do so were McCain the nominee. Polling of Democratic voters produced the mirror image of those opinions.

Gore's victories were built on the votes of Democrats who said they wanted a strong, experienced leader. "This year in this election we are the party of the mainstream," Gore said.

The primaries are by no means over. There are 23 states to go, major ones including Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey among them. Along with states like Michigan and Super Tuesday's California and New York, they will be the battlegrounds in the final contest to succeed President Clinton.

A footnote: not many campaigns ago, the first Tuesday in March was the start of the primary competition, not the day things were settled.