Time for the Champagne Goggles?

May 07, 2008— -- Back in early February, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each had a couple of wins under their belt and were close in pledged delegates and in the overall vote total.

Clinton's institutional support from within the Democratic Party allowed her to build a commanding lead in superdelegates over Obama and as a result, hold the lead in overall delegates.

But that was before Super Tuesday, which turned out to be a draw. And before Obama went on a run of 12 straight victories in February. And before Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rev. Wright, Bosnia, Colombian trade deals, NAFTA and Bill Clinton unplugged on the campaign trail.

Despite several rough weeks, Obama has momentum and is rapidly closing in on surpassing Clinton's superdelegate total. In the ABC News delegate estimate, Clinton has just three more superdelegates than Obama. (Compare that to her lead of over 60 superdelegates at Super Tuesday.)

Obama picked up four new superdelegates today, including Jennifer McClellan, a Clinton convert. Clinton had a net gain of zero today because Rep. Heath Shuler's endorsement was negated by McClellan's defection.

Now with just four weeks and six primaries remaining on the Democratic nomination calendar, the chase for the remaining 260-some uncommitted superdelegates is on.

Clinton followed up her squeaker in Indiana with a 90-minute meeting at the DCCC in Washington with seven uncommitted superdelegates, per ABC News' Jake Tapper, including Rep. Chris Carney of Pennsylvania.

ABC News' Zach Wolf and Matt Jaffe report that Clinton said that she met with Members of Congress and talked about solutions for seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan.

"There was a demonstration here right before I got here from West Virginia and I think that everybody realizes that we've got to resolve what's going to happen with the delegates from Florida and Michigan," Clinton said. "And I'll continue to emphasize and stress that we cannot disenfranchise those voters and I hope we'll have a resolution."

ABC News' Political Unit reached out to over 60 of the approximately 80 uncommitted Members of Congress and DNC members in the Washington DC area who are uncommitted superdelegates.

The overwhelming majority of the uncommitted superdelegates reached by ABC News have no plans to publicly endorse right now and most said they will wait until all of the voting is complete on June 3. Last night's results were not enough to get these uncommitteds off of the fence.

Thursday it's Obama's turn to try and sway unpledged superdelegates with some facetime. ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports that Obama plans to hold his own session with uncommitteds while he is in Washington.

While the pundits were in overdrive speculating on when Clinton would bow out of the race, surrogates for the Obama campaign were extremely careful to not call for Clinton to pack it in and said repeatedly that it was her decision to make, ABC News' Miller reports.

On a conference call with reporters, Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe was joined by top surrogates Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Janet Napolitano, and Gov Deval Patrick.

"It would be inappropriate and awkward and wrong with any of us to tell Senator Clinton when it is time for this race to be over," Sen. McCaskill said. "I am confident that she will do the right thing for the democratic nominee. And confident that she will work hard for the party."

Miller reports that the key talking point was crystal clear: stepping up the pressure calling for the superdelegates to make their decisions known now.

Gov Napolitano said, "Now is the time for superdelegates, as we wind our way down to the last states, to announce their preference."

Clinton added a quickly arranged stop in Shepherdstown, WV to signal that she is moving forward to next Tuesday's primary. ABC News' Eloise Harpert reports that when Clinton was asked if she is going to carry the fight to the floor of the convention, Clinton said she's not going anywhere until there is a clear winner.

"I'm staying in this race until there is a nominee and I obviously am going to work as hard as I can to become that nominee that is what I have done that is what I continue to do."

Tivo Alert!

John McCain stops by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight.

On the campaign front. . .

HILLARY CLINTON

-- 10:15 am ET: Attends rally with voters, Charleston, WV

-- 3:15 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Sioux Falls, SD

-- 11:30 pm ET: Attends town hall meeting with voters, Central Point, OR

As for the Republicans. . .

JOHN MCCAIN

-- Attends fundraiser with supporters, Lakewood, NJ

At the White House and Beyond. . .

PRESIDENT BUSH

-- No public events scheduled

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY

-- 10:30 am ET: Participates in a tour of the Philadelphia Financial Center, Philadelphia, PA

-- 10:50 am ET: Speaks to employees at the Philadelphia Financial Center, Philadelphia, PA

-- 7:00 pm ET: Speaks at a reception on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, Washington, DC

POLITICAL NEWS STORIES ON ABCNEWS.COM

ABC News' Jennifer Parker: Clinton Fights on After Stinging Defeat in N.C., Narrow Win in Ind. LINK

ABC News' Jake Tapper: Hillary (and Bill?) Loan Her Campaign $6 Million More LINK

ABC News' Jennifer Parker: Clinton Squeaks Out Indiana Victory; Obama Solidly Wins North Carolina LINK

ABC News' Jake Tapper: Hillary Clinton's To-Do List LINK

ABC News' Matthew Dowd: End Game: Clinton's Exit Strategy LINK

ABC News' David Chalian: The Numbers Are All in Obama's Favor LINK

ABC News' Mike Elmore: Carville: 'Of Course' Clinton Is Staying in Race LINK

ABC News' Kate Snow: Clinton Loans Campaign Money. . . Again LINK

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf: With Polls Closed, Dems to Unveil Gas Prices LINK

ABC News' Sunlen Miller: Obama to Meet with Superdelegates LINK

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf: Superdelegate Senators Assess '08 Race LINK

ABC News' Eloise Harper: Clinton Says She's 'Staying in This Race' LINK

ABC News' Jake Tapper: Conference Call from Planet Clinton LINK

POLITICAL VIDEO ON ABCNEWS.COM

The Day After

ABC's Rick Klein on the road ahead for Hillary Clinton. LINK

Game Changer or Game Ender?

How will the N.C. and Ind. results effect the Democratic nomination? LINK

Clinton Still Determined to Win

Sen. Clinton in West VA: "I'm staying in this race until there's a nominee." LINK

Kimmel: Obama Should Wed Bill Clinton

Late-night host shares consequences of marriage with former President Clinton. LINK

Bush Threatens Veto on Housing Bill

Flanked by GOP House leadership, Bush discusses housing, gas prices and FISA. LINK

The 'Worst' Political Coverage

"The Worst Political Team on TV" discusses the N.C. and Indiana primaries. LINK

The Bottom Line on the Primaries

George Stephanopoulos breaks down the results from North Carolina and Indiana. LINK

Clinton's Last Stand?

A look at where the senator's campaign stands after the primaries. LINK

More With George

What do these primary results mean for Democrats? LINK

Obama Claims a 'Big' Win

Obama says his N.C. victory disproves the charge that he can't win big states. LINK

Hoosiers for Hillary

Clinton boasts of her middle class campaign after the Indiana primary. LINK

Obama's Youngest Fan Goes Wild

This user-generated video submission shows a young and energetic endorser. LINK

N.C. Primary: Student Webcam Interview

Duke University students Adam N. and Kelly T. discuss the issues. LINK

'Talk Back' on the Candidates

Josh and Ari share reasons for supporting opposing Democratic candidates. LINK