The North Carolina and Indiana primaries are on Tuesday and the stakes are high. There’s a lot of speculation about the potential outcome but trying to read the tea leaves may be an exercise in futility.

The mantra has been “Hillary can’t win,” because of the numbers, because Bill put his foot in his mouth one time too many, because she’ll go to any lengths in order to get the nomination, because too many people just don’t like her. Yet Clinton has stayed in the race and, by not giving up, has recently had a string of wins. She is busy raising more money, winning respect and gaining momentum.

When Reverend Wright’s attitude went from wounded to arrogant, it hurt Obama’s campaign and “yes we can” was called into question. Pundits wondered how he would unite all Americans with such fierce loyalty to an Afro-centrist church. As he tried to focus on the issues important to voters, rather than the media frenzy, eyebrows were raised about Obama’s ability to handle the tough times. Yet he hung in there, stayed calm and on task, eventually speaking out strongly against Reverend Wright.

As Sandwiched Boomers, you have so much life experience under your belt. So – when you’re in a race that is too close to call, what personal qualities allow you to pull ahead? What kind of lessons have you learned when certain loyalties brought unexpected consequences? And what have you done to help turn the tide?