She's likely going to get dumped on today in the Chesapeake Primaries in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. That means she needs some big wins -- and Ohio and Texas seem to fit the bill.

Mrs. Clinton held a buck-up-the-troops conference call on Monday with donors, superdelegates and other supporters; several said afterward that she had sounded tired and a little down, but determined about Ohio and Texas.

They also said that they had not been especially soothed, and that they believed she might be on a losing streak that could jeopardize her competitiveness in those states.

“She has to win both Ohio and Texas comfortably, or she’s out,” said one superdelegate who has endorsed Mrs. Clinton, and who spoke on condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment. “The campaign is starting to come to terms with that.” Campaign advisers, also speaking privately in order to speak plainly, confirmed this view.

This means, of course, that we folks here in Texas should expect the former First Lady to be in the state a great deal over the next three weeks. That also means that we will see a lot of her husband in town as well. Quick! Lock up the women!

But seriously, folks, this is a race that was supposed to be all locked up by now, according to the conventional wisdom. That it isn't is a sign of big trouble for the Clinton campaign, which is taking body blow after body blow with defeats in the primaries. And with polling numbers favoring Obama in the general election, there is a serious question about who the Democrats will nominate.

Posted by: Greg at 11:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 287 words, total size 2 kb.