I watched a speech tonight given by Hillary Clinton following her dramatic defeat to Barack Obama in three primaries–Maryland,Virginia and Washington,D.C., and, for the first time, I saw a candidate who looked like a loser.

Her voice was cracking from strain; her delivery was tense and wooden; her tone was strident. In short, she did not  “sound” presidential.

To a large degree, all politics is theatre. The ancient Roman historians knew this and often would comment on how various members of the Senate would “perform” before fellow law makers.

By contrast, Obama’s speech , while virtually the same one he has given time and time again, sounded alive and vibrant. He’s a very good “actor.”

To be sure, Obama had far more to be upbeat about: He not only won the three primaries, which was not unexpected, but he won them by wide margins over Clinton: In D.C., he got about 75 percent of the vote; in Virginia, nearly two thirds of the vote; and, in Maryland about 60 percent.

Just about all news organizations now show Obama with slightly more delegates than Clinton. 2,025 delegates will be needed to win the Democratic Party’s nomination.

Many political observers I listened to tonight on various TV programs said they still thought Clinton could go on to get the nomination provided she won big in delegate rich Texas and Ohio.

Perhaps. But, not if she continues to give the sort of public appearance she gave tonight.

When her husband first ran for office, he suffered severe vocal strain often. He sought out and was treated by one of the world’s ,then, most respected Ear, Nose and Throat specialists, Wilbur James Gould in Manhattan.

Gould died years ago, but Hillary needs to get fast ,expert help or her grating speeches will stop her cold on her journey to the White House.

Obama may be the candidate who always talks about “change,” but it is Hillary Clinton who actually must change by morphing into a far more compelling public speaker…and real fast.

Granted, this is a tall order for anyone; but, by definition, someone running to be President of the United States, should be able to master proper performance technique and vocal control.

If she doesn’t, she may very well lose both Texas and Ohio. And, that would be the end of her story.