Bill Clinton: Texas is Do or Die for Hillary

Posted on 2/21/2008 2:27:00 PM

Texas, according to former President Bill Clinton, would be the litmus test that would decide the fate of his wife Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions. The results in the primary elections to be held on March 4, 2008, in Texas, as well as in Ohio, he indicated, would determine whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The former president has throughout played an active role in his wife's presidential campaign. Addressing a rally in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, he asked voters to vote for her to ensure that she is nominated. "This whole nomination process has come down to Texas and Ohio," he told a 300 strong audience comprising of Hillary Clinton's supporters. "If she wins Texas and Ohio I think she will be the nominee. If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be. It's all on you," he added, for good effect.

Hillary Clinton, once a frontrunner in the presidential race has, for some time, seen her position gradually lagging behind her rival Obama. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to be nominated. With the Illinois senator's recent victory in Wisconsin, Clinton has 1,233 delegates as compared to Obama's 1,303. For Hillary Clinton, who desperately needs to improve her count of delegates, the primaries in Texas and Ohio could very well be the last ray of hope. Both, Hillary Clinton and Obama will be vying hard for the 228 delegates in Texas and 161 in Ohio.

As Martin Frost, a congressman from Dallas, with a neutral position explained, "Clinton could win the statewide vote, but she could still just break even or end up behind in the delegate count," adding, "The press is playing attention to who wins the delegates, so that will be important."