Clinton makes closing argument after Puerto Rico win

— -- Hillary Rodham Clinton and her allies argued Sunday that she would be more likely than Barack Obama to win the White House this fall, so Democratic VIPs should buck primary-season results and back her for the nomination.

Clinton's closing arguments came during what could be the waning days of her campaign, despite her big win Sunday in the Puerto Rico primary.

The primary capped a weekend of frenetic political activity. Front-runner Obama said he had left his controversial Chicago church, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) resolved disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan.

The DNC rules panel voted late Saturday to seat the two states' convention delegates at half strength rather than the full strength sought by Clinton. The 24 delegates she netted Saturday, even combined with gains from her Puerto Rico win, were not enough to prevent Obama's progress toward the nomination.

Jenny Backus, a neutral Democratic strategist, said the DNC decision signified "the beginning of the public end" of Clinton's campaign. "Her once rock-solid hold on the party insiders has slipped away," Backus said in an interview Sunday. "She found a party very much ready to transition into general-election mode."

Delegates are the measure of success in the nomination race and Obama is closing in rapidly on the 2,118 he needs to win. Clinton is talking up electability and popular vote in hopes of influencing superdelegates, the party officials and insiders who are free to choose a candidate and who will ultimately decide this year's nominee.

In her victory speech in San Juan, Clinton claimed 17.6 million in popular votes from this primary season, before adding in Sunday's results. She's starting a new ad today in South Dakota and Montana that says "more Americans have voted for Hillary Clinton than anyone in primary history."

That assertion, however, is disputed. Florida and Michigan broke party rules by moving their primaries to January. Last year the DNC stripped them of their delegates, the candidates agreed not to campaign there and Clinton was the only major candidate to leave her name on the Michigan ballot.