Politics

Starting Gate: Last Dance For Hillary?

By Vaughn Ververs

February 26, 2008 / 8:49 AM EST / CBS News

(AP)

For the last five days, Hillary Clinton and her campaign have done about everything they could to stomp out the notion that her conciliatory comments at the end of last week's debate were some sort of acknowledgment that the nomination has slipped from her once firm grip.

"Whatever happens, we're going to be fine," Clinton said at the conclusion of that debate. Perhaps "whatever" was less a signal of resignation to the fates and more a preview of what was to come.

Since Thursday, Clinton has scolded Barack Obama over mailings in Ohio, mocked his movement as being based on some celestial fantasy, compared him to President Bush on foreign policy and seen her campaign embroiled in a flap over a photograph of Obama dressed in traditional Somali garb and engaged in a food fight with the media. Whatever will be next?

We'll find out when the two take the stage for tonight's debate in Cleveland, where Obama will appear for the first time as the undisputed front-runner in the Democratic race. It's been a rather slow climb for Obama to that perch, even after eleven straight victories that demonstrated his ability to eat into Clinton's base of support.

She laid down her markers for the comeback, first in Ohio and Texas on March 4th, then in Pennsylvania in April. But her lead in those states have evaporated and, according the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, he has surged to a national lead among Democrats who now believe he will be the nominee.

Despite the seemingly impossible odds, Clinton may have one last shot before Ohio and Texas vote one week from today. The CBS poll holds some danger signs for Obama, especially when it comes to experience. Just 39 percent of registered voters said they believed Obama is prepared to be president with 56 percent saying he needs more time. Fifty seven percent said Clinton is prepared and 73 percent said John McCain is.

Clinton appears bent on sending a message to Democrats: On the precipice of making this choice, you'd better think twice before leaping. Her conundrum is she can't find a way to send that message without looking shrill, angry or entitled. Tonight's debate may be the last chance for her to make that argument before Obama heads off for more mega-rallies. Or it could be the last dance for Hillary.

Dodd Goes For Obama: Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is slated to endorse Obama, his one-time primary foe, this morning. Dodd declined to make an endorsement in advance of his state's primary on Super Tuesday but gave a peak at his take on the state of the race yesterday. "It's obviously getting to a point where people are speaking pretty loudly," Dodd said. "Eleven contests. My hope is that we'll get closure on this pretty quickly." One more super delegate for Obama.

Plucked Right From A Frank Capra Movie? When you start giving interviews to "Entertainment Tonight," you just might be a front-runner. Obama spoke to the entertainment program about his favorite movies and actors, according to the AP. It might not be surprising that Obama named Jimmy Stewart, star of feel-good movies like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," as one of his favorite actors. Others included tough-guy Humphrey Bogart and romantic lead Spencer Tracey. Obama's favorite movies include "The Godfather," part one and two (naturally omitting the third of the trilogy) and "Lawrence of Arabia."

Around The Track

Hillary Clinton and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres chatted via satellite with Clinton making the appearance during a live event. One of the burning questions concerned Ellen's desire to ban … glitter. Asked for her position on the subject, Clinton responded, "I have been asked so many difficult questions in my life, and some questions you can answer yes or no. But when it comes glitter, what on Earth would grade school children do for there special projects? So maybe, what we do is we ban glitter for anyone over 12."

Mike Huckabee campaigned in Rhode Island yesterday in advance of that state's March 4th primary and reiterated his intentions to stay in the campaign through the end, saying voters should have a choice. "They should have a voice, they should have a choice, and they ought to be able to vote. There are a lot of folks obviously who don't want to have that. They want a coronation and, you know, give John McCain the crown, the scepter and the robe. But I'm not quite ready to do that."

According to a new survey sponsored by Rock the Vote, eighty percent of young voters are paying close attention to the presidential race and 47 percent consider themselves Democrats while just 23 percent identify themselves as Republicans.

President Bush tried to cheer up his party's statehouse leaders about the prospects for victory in November, telling the Republican Governor's Association he is "confident" that the party will hold the White House. "When I say I'm confident, I am so because I understand the mentality of the American people," Bush said. "And I understand the mentality of our candidates. And there's no question in my mind, with your help, 2008 is going to be a great year."