Texas-Sized Showdown for Clinton, Obama

March 1, 2008 — -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has staked her presidential campaign on Texas and Ohio -- and this weekend, with only three days to go before the Democratic primaries in those states, she is battling Sen. Barack Obama and his streak of 11 consecutive wins with everything she has.

In a season of important contests, Tuesday's are now seen as the ones that could prove decisive. Polls show Clinton ahead in Ohio, while Texas is a virtual dead heat.

With the Democratic campaign possibly hinging on the two battleground states, the candidates are locked in a down-to-the-wire weekend of marathon travel, stump speeches and attacks and counterattacks.

Clinton has focused her efforts on emphasizing national security and at the same time questioning Obama's credentials.

"His entire campaign is based on a speech he gave at an antiwar rally in 2002 -- a lot of talk, little action. Or as they say in Texas, all hat, no cattle," she said today aboard her campaign plane.

Before heading to Ohio today, Obama was in Providence, R.I., questioning Clinton's words.

"We need leaders in Washington who say what they mean and mean what they say," Obama said. "I don't want to just tell everyone what they want to hear, I'll tell people what they need to know."

With four states holding primaries on Tuesday, the Obama campaign believes any delegates Clinton may win -- even if she narrowly beats him in Ohio -- could be offset by huge Obama wins in Rhode Island or Vermont.

Today in Ohio, Clinton deployed her husband on the stump, and the former president, who passed the North America Free Trade Agreement, is now pledging that his wife will fix it.

"She proposes to substantially overhaul NAFTA," President Clinton said.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign sent out thousands of volunteers who plan to knock on one million doors by Tuesday.

"I think his momentum from the other states is going to carry right through to Ohio," said one volunteer.

Dueling ad campaigns hit the Web this week.