Analysis: Clinton continues despite dire predictions
WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton's showing in Tuesday's primaries and the disclosure that she loaned her campaign an additional $6.4 million fuel a growing sense that her window to the nomination is nearly closed.
"Clinton out of math, money and momentum," proclaimed the liberal website Huffington Post. "Barack Obama is all but certain to be the Democratic nominee," intoned The Economist magazine's website. The New York Post's front page featured Clinton's picture over a one-word headline: "Toast."
Pundits have written Clinton off before, of course, and she campaigned in West Virginia on Wednesday as if nothing was amiss — saying she is "staying in the race until there's a nominee."
"We were very excited about our come-from-behind victory in Indiana," she told a cheering crowd in Shepherdstown. Later, speaking to reporters, she dismissed a question about former senator George McGovern, a onetime supporter who hours before had publicly urged her to step aside.
"He has a right to make whatever decision he makes," she said.
Clinton's challenge in the final weeks is to convince party leaders she remains a viable candidate, and the campaign sought to do that Wednesday.
In a conference call with reporters, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson talked about a "path to the nomination" that involved "doing very well" in the six remaining primaries.
But after Obama won handily in North Carolina and Clinton eked out victory in Indiana, the only way she can win is if the superdelegates moved en masse to her side.
Few, if any, independent voices called that a likely scenario.
Clinton spokesman Phil Singer conceded that when the primaries are over, she would be behind by nearly 100 delegates even if the party decided to count the results from Michigan and Florida — the two states disqualified from being counted after they moved up their primary dates in violation of party rules.
After Tuesday's results, Obama leads with 1,846.5 delegates, including superdelegates, according to the Associated Press. Clinton has 1,696. That leaves Obama 178.5 delegates shy of the 2,025 needed to secure the nomination.
There was no flood of superdelegates to Obama on Wednesday. His campaign announced the support of four uncommitted superdelegates, and the Clinton side claimed one.
Most uncommitted superdelegates seemed intent on staying that way for now.
"Probably the momentum is with Obama, but you can't really say that because she keeps winning," said uncommitted superdelegate Jerry Lee, president of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council. David Parker, a Democratic National Committee member and lawyer in Statesville, N.C., said letting the race continue is "good for the party because it brings those white independent voters over to the Democratic side, and we will need them in the fall."
Parker said that he fielded calls from both camps Tuesday night and that the Clinton side seemed deflated. "It was, 'Are you gonna go to Obama?' " he said.
Another issue is money. Clinton has loaned her campaign more than $11 million, and she told USA TODAY she did not rule out further loans.
"I'm fortunate to be able to do this," she said of the loans.
Although Clinton made a pitch for Internet donations in her speech Tuesday night, the campaign made no announcement about how much had been raised overnight. The day after a similar pitch following the Pennsylvania victory, the campaign announced it raised $10 million. That money is gone.
Clinton spent $9.2 million on ads in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana, while Obama spent $18.6 million, said Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group.
Tracey said money for advertising shouldn't be an issue in the last six primaries because "they are small states with relatively inexpensive markets."
Besides West Virginia, the remaining contests will be in Kentucky, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota and Puerto Rico.
Clinton fundraiser Mark Aronchick, speaking from a boisterous fundraising event Wednesday afternoon at a Washington hotel, said the process must be allowed to play out so her supporters don't feel they were treated unfairly. "There is a great deal of passion in both camps … bordering on anger," said Aronchick, a Philadelphia lawyer.
Contributing: Jill Lawrence in Washington; Kathy Kiely in Charlestown, W.Va.