Clinton hits Obama vetting as just the start

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday said damaging stories swirling around her rival show that the true vetting of Sen. Barack Obama has just begun, and she predicted that a strong finish today in Ohio and Texas will revive her run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Photos:Clinton, Obama, McCain campaign

Mr. Obama of Illinois — who had to allay reports that he played political games with his trade-deal stance and has distanced himself from the corruption trial of his former fundraiser in Chicago — made the case that Mrs. Clinton should drop out even if she scores narrow wins in the two big states.

He said any outcome shy of landslide victories for Mrs. Clinton would dash her hopes of overtaking his current lead of more than 100 nominating delegates.

“I think the math is such where it’s going to be hard for her to win the nomination, and they’ll have to make a decision about how much longer they want to pursue it,” he told ABC News.

“I would assume that there are going to be people who want to bring this to an end one way or another, because John McCain’s out there,” Mr. Obama said, referring to the presumptive Republican nominee.

Mrs. Clinton, who lost the last 11 contests and staked the Ohio and Texas contests as a last chance to pull even with Mr. Obama, said she expected “to do well.”

“I believe that is going to be a very significant message to the country, and then we move on to Pennsylvania and the states next,” the New York senator told reporters in Toledo, Ohio.

The race remained tight, with several polls showing Mrs. Clinton with a four- to 12-point advantage in Ohio and slightly edging out Mr. Obama in Texas.

Primaries also happen today in the Clinton stronghold of Rhode Island, and in Vermont, where Mr. Obama is expected to win easily.

Mark Penn, the chief strategist for Mrs. Clinton, said any measure of victory for his candidate would “fully blunt” Mr. Obama’s momentum, especially because he entered these states with front-runner billing, more money and lopsidedly positive press coverage.

“Only now is Senator Obama starting to go through the vetting process that candidates normally go through,” Mr. Penn said in a conference call with reporters. “There are plenty of states left. Far more states than the difference in delegates.”

Mr. Obama leads the former first lady by 107 delegates, 1,383 to 1,276, according to an Associated Press count of pledged delegates awarded in state primaries and party superdelegates who have committed their support. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to capture the nomination.

After today, a little more than 600 pledged delegates will be at stake in the remaining 12 nominating contests. In a close race, Mrs. Clinton will have to look to the party’s superdelegates to hand her the nomination.

“Whoever wins the most pledged delegates will be the nominee,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said. The Clinton campaign keeps “moving the goal posts, but at some point, they run out of field.”

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