Clinton Parties in PR, Acknowledges the Odds

May 26, 2008— -- Eager to put her controversial remarks about Robert Kennedy's assassination behind her, Sen. Hillary Clinton took off to Puerto Rico this weekend, where she shimmied to Enrique Iglesias, swigged from a bottle of Presidente beer and once again proclaimed her determination to continue her longshot campaign.

But Clinton also acknowledged, for the first time, that the odds of her becoming her party's presidential nominee are stacked against her.

Puerto Ricans might not be able to vote for president this November, but they can turn out on June 1 for the Democratic primary, which Clinton is favored to win. She hopes that a victory there will enable her to argue to superdelegates that she has won a majority of the popular vote.

After that, only two primaries are left. Montana and South Dakota will wrap up the long Democratic primary season June 3, and Democrats are waiting to see whether Clinton presses her campaign beyond the primaries and into the Democrats' August convention.

Clinton acknowledged in a column in the New York Daily News Sunday that her chances are dwindling.

"I am not unaware of the challenges or the odds of my securing the nomination," she wrote.

Nevertheless, she campaigned in Puerto Rico with her usual gusto. She promised she would bring voting rights to the island, saying, "I believe you should have a vote in picking the president too."

On Sunday, however, she seemed to back off that pledge, saying, "All people are entitled to a representative form of government. And all levels of government. The people of Puerto Rico should have the right to determine by a majority vote the status you choose from among all the options."

In South Dakota, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, likewise resisted the idea that his wife concede the race to Sen. Barack Obama and accused the media of being part of a "conspiracy" to push his wife out of contention. Clinton said the media has ignored poll numbers that he claims show Hillary Clinton would run a stronger race against Republican John McCain.