Clinton seeks cash, momentum from Pennsylvania win

Apr 23, 2008, 6:31 GMT

U.S. Democratic Senator and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton (L) of New York and her husband former U.S. President Bill Clinton, celebrate Mrs. Clinton\'s victory in the Pennsylvania primary election during a rally at the Park Hyatt hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on 22 April 2008. EPA/MATTHEW CAVANAUGH

Washington - Hillary Clinton vowed to continue her White House bid after a strong, 10-point victory over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, telling supporters that the 'tide is turning' in the tight battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.

But the former first lady's dwindling campaign coffers mean she will need money as well as votes to keep the race going beyond Tuesday, with contests in nine more states and territories on the horizon.

Obama hammered home that point by delivering his concession speech in the next big battleground, the Midwestern state of Indiana, which votes on May 6 along with North Carolina.

At a rally in Indiana's third largest city, Evansville, he played down the Pennsylvania loss, instead focussing on having 'closed the gap' from as much as a 20-point deficit several weeks ago.

'Now it's up to you, Indiana,' said Obama.

The Illinois senator still leads in the all-important delegates to the August nominating convention of the centre-left party. Once again, though, Obama failed to land the knockout blow that his campaign had sought.

His defeat comes despite outspending Clinton more than two-to-one in Pennsylvania and crisscrossing the state for the last six weeks of campaigning.

A Clinton spokesman admitted this week that the campaign is nearly 10 million dollars in debt, and the New York senator herself warned that another Pennsylvania success was unlikely if she couldn't raise much-needed cash.

'We can only keep winning if we can keep competing with an opponent who outspends us so massively,' Clinton said, pleading with supporters to donate money through her website.

Obama began the day with a lead of 150 delegates in the national race to the Democratic presidential convention in August, where at least 2,024 delegates are needed for a nominating majority.

Clinton's Pennsylvania win is unlikely to make much of a dent in Obama's lead, given the complex proportional system by which delegates are awarded in the state.

And with only about 500 delegates left to be decided in the remaining nine contests, time is quickly running out.

David Gergen, an advisor to three Republican presidents as well as former president Bill Clinton, said that Hillary Clinton has no realistic chance to get the nomination barring a collapse of Obama's campaign.

'I don't see her way to the nomination,' said Gergen, now an analyst with CNN. 'The wheels are not coming off (Obama) unless there's some big revelation.'

But Clinton's victory suggests some remorse among Democratic voters as the campaign has turned increasingly negative in recent weeks, prompting some concern among Democrats that party unity will be the biggest loser as the campaign drags on.

Exit polls show Clinton won Pennsylvania even though more than 60 per cent of voters said they believed Obama would be the party's eventual nominee.

The last primary contest is in early June, and Clinton promised Tuesday to remain in the race.

'Some people counted me out and said to drop out,' she said, provoking loud boos from supporters. 'But the American people don't quit, and they deserve a president who doesn't quit, either.'

Obama's loss did come after a difficult month that included controversies over racially incendiary comments by his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, as well as charges of elitism for his characterization of small-town American values.

Clinton's campaign has been making the argument that Obama is ill- prepared to face presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in the general election. Tuesday's victory will only bolster her key argument that Obama can't win the big states crucial to victory on November 4.

Obama has won twice the number of contests as Clinton since the series of state-by-state votes began with Iowa on January 3. But Clinton has won large states including Massachusetts, Ohio, California, New York and now Pennsylvania.

To have any chance of winning the nomination, she will need to convince so-called super-delegates - party leaders and activists that make up about one-fifth of total delegates - to overturn Obama's edge in pledged delegates awarded by the state contests.

'If Senator Obama can't win a big swing state like Pennsylvania,' ... just what will it take for him to be able to win a large swing state,' in November, Clinton's chief strategist Geoff Garin asked.