HILLARY CLINTON is battling to keep her presidential bid alive today when Texas and Ohio vote in primaries that could be her last chance to halt Barack Obama's march towards the Democratic nomination. Denis Stauntonreports from Washington
Mrs Clinton's closest advisers, including former president Bill Clinton, have admitted that she must win both states if she is to remain in the race, and Mr Obama has launched a massive advertising and organisational drive in an attempt to knock her out.
"I'm just getting warmed up," Mrs Clinton said yesterday at the start of a day of campaigning in Ohio and Texas.
"I think I know what's happening and I believe I'm going to do very well tomorrow. I think that's going to be a very significant message to the country and then we move on to Pennsylvania and the states coming up."
Mr Obama's campaign said yesterday that Mrs Clinton must win both states by a double-digit margin to have any chance of closing the gap among the delegates who will choose the Democratic nominee.
"It is clear that narrow popular vote wins in Texas and Ohio will do very little to improve their nearly impossible path to the nomination," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said.
"They keep moving the goalposts, but at some point you run out of field."
Mrs Clinton has stepped up her attacks on Mr Obama in recent days, questioning his readiness to be commander-in-chief and accusing him of double talk about a trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
Mr Obama has made opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) a centrepiece of his campaign in Ohio, which has experienced mass layoffs in manufacturing.
According to a memo leaked yesterday from the Canadian government, his top economic adviser told Canadian officials that Mr Obama's criticism of Nafta should be viewed as "political positioning". Mr Obama faced further embarrassment yesterday when jury selection began in the Chicago trial of Tony Rezko, a long-standing friend and fund-raiser charged with buying power and influence by giving campaign money to politicians.
Mr Obama is not among the politicians named in the indictment but he has acknowledged in the past that he made a mistake in getting involved in a property deal with Mr Rezko.
Mr Obama plans to celebrate in San Antonio, Texas, tonight while Mrs Clinton will be in Columbus, Ohio, decisions that reflect their relative strength in both states.
Polls show Mrs Clinton a few points ahead in Ohio but Mr Obama has drawn level or surpassed her in Texas.
A complicated system of awarding delegates in Texas could favour Mr Obama by giving added weight to votes in big cities such as Austin, Dallas and Houston, where he is strongest. One third of the state's delegates will be chosen at caucuses held after polls close for the primary.
Mrs Clinton's senior advisers yesterday declined to speculate on what she will do if she fails to win both Texas and Ohio, insisting that Mr Obama was under greater pressure to win.
"Senator Obama came into Ohio and Texas with every possible strategic advantage. He outspent us massively. His allies outspent us massively. He and his allies have declared the race over so many times I can't even count," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said during a conference call with reporters. "If he can't compete with us on who can be commander-in-chief, who can be a steward of this economy, he can't compete with John McCain on these issues."
Mr McCain hopes that big victories in Texas and Ohio today will bring him over the threshold of delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee trails far behind but he has promised to remain in the race until one of the candidates wins the 1,191 delegates.