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Clinton Hits Back At Idea That She Expects Defeat

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By JOHN M. BRODER, The New York Times

Published: February 23, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed to carry on despite remarks in a debate Thursday night that some people took as a valedictory to her long effort to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

In television interviews and at a morning rally in Dallas, Clinton returned to the theme of her closing remarks at the debate with Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday, when she said that "whatever happens" in the election contest, she and Obama would prosper.

"I just hope that we'll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that's what this election should be about," she said.

Aides insisted the remarks were not an admission that she thought she would lose the race but rather an attempt to refocus the campaign onto the struggles of voters instead of the drama of the two compelling and historic candidates battling for the nomination.

They also said it was heartfelt and spontaneous, and not a rehearsed attempt to project the sense of vulnerability and humanity that helped her carry New Hampshire when her campaign was at a low point after her third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

"You know I made it very clear that this election is about all of you," Clinton, of New York, said at a Dallas rally. "It's about your futures, your families, your jobs."

Her opponent, Obama, of Illinois, spent Friday campaigning in parts of southern and central Texas, concentrating on areas that are home to many Hispanic voters, who some think could decide the March 4 Texas primary.

Clinton, in an interview on CBS' "Early Show," was asked directly if her closing debate remarks meant she thought she was going to lose the race. Obama has won 11 straight contests since Feb. 5.

"No, of course not," she said. "It is the recognition that both of us are on the brink of historic change."

She also was asked on ABC's "Good Morning America" to respond to the statement Thursday by her husband, former President Clinton, that she had to win in Ohio and Texas.

She said the states are "critical" in a race this close. "I've won some, he's won some, each of us has to get to 2,025 - so of course every single race is important," she said. "And I feel good about my campaigns in both Texas and Ohio."

Reinforcing her message that she will continue to fight, Clinton told Texas Monthly on Friday that she planned to push for the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be seated at the Democratic National Convention.

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