Clinton Remains Confident
WHITE MARSH, MD. -- In an effort to position herself as the underdog, Hillary Clinton told reporters today that she won "against all odds" in the Super Tuesday states where she was victorious, despite heavy leads in the polls in those states.
Clinton held a press conference shortly after touring a General Motors Hybrid Technology plant and maintains that despite losing all 5 contests this past weekend, her campaign remains strong. When asked if supporters should worry she said, "To the contrary ... we had a great night on Super Tuesday."
"We won states Democrats have to win in November. You know it is highly unlikely that we will win Alaska, or North Dakota, or Idaho or Nebraska, but we have to win Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Michigan and we've got to be competitive in places like Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. So I feel good about where we are," she said."
"I commend Senator Obama for on his recent victories, but I believe that if you look at the states we have coming, I am very confident."
The states Clinton is referring to are Ohio and Texas, two Mar. 4 states with lots of delegates.
"I am absolutely looking to Ohio and Texas," Clinton said, "because those are states where they represent the broad electorate of this country. They represent the kind of voters that are going to have to be convinced and won over in the general election. So this is an ongoing contest and I feel very good about it."
Clinton told reporters that even though she lost these last 5 contests, she has already won the states the Democratic nominee is going to need to win in November.
Clinton added that she's not new to this game. "And maybe it's because I've been down this road a long time, and I understand where the way campaigns unfold. We've had a two-person race for one week and I think that changes the dynamic, you know we had to rush into these contests that have occurred over the weekend and are coming up tomorrow. But now people will be able to take a breath and begin to really focus on the two of us who are on this ballot together and be able to draw the comparisons and the contrasts."
Clinton also said that she plans to compete in the upcoming Wisconsin primary on Feb. 19. "We're getting prepared for Wisconsin. We're going to compete everywhere. That's the advantage of being able to have the resources and the ability to compete everywhere so you'll certainly be following me to Wisconsin."
Clinton was also asked why she has decided to put so much focus on Republican John McCain when less than a month ago she refused to comment on statements he made about her Iraq policy, originally citing that there would be "time" to engage him once he and she became the nominees. Clinton said now that McCain is the nominee, even though she is not, it is fair to draw the contrasts.
The Clinton campaign is also holding a conference call with reporters this afternoon to discuss McCain's "contrasts" further.