Clinton Makes a Thundering Comeback

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton landed a surprising knockout in the primary in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island, ending Senator Barack Obama's winning streak of 11 straight nominating contest wins. This spree had led may prominent politicians to suggest that Clinton reconsider her candidature. However, these three major triumphs will help Clinton put behind her, a month of defeats. Now, in her own words, "We're going on, we're going strong and we're going all the way."

Clinton won the Rhode Island primary with more than 58 percent of the vote. The Ohio and Texas wins, though, remain the prize victories since they are rich in delegates. She won by 55 percent in Ohio in nearly complete returns, and her winning share in Texas is around 51 percent.

Of the four states, Obama led only the Vermont primary, by turning nearly 60 percent of the votes in his favor. Countering Clinton's claims about the three-state win having had a race-altering effect, he assured his league, "We have nearly the same delegate lead as we did this morning and we are on our way to winning this nomination."

In the four-state competition for delegates, Clinton cornered nearly 100 delegates as against Obama's count of about 77. The total tally for Obama is 1,466 delegates, including superdelegates (specially chosen party and elected officials), while Clinton has 1,376 delegates. The magic figure to win the Democratic nomination is 2,025.

The two Democratic rivals have indulged in an expensive, cut-throat campaign, especially in the past two weeks. Clinton had questioned Obama's sincerity in opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and his experience to be the commander-in-chief. In Ohio and Texas, according to the polling place interviews, these remarks seem to have worked. The economy seemed to be the chief concern for voters in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. Vermont voters said the war in Iraq was their top concern.

With the Mississippi primary scheduled for next week, Obama has already begun advertising there. He is also set to pay a visit to Mississippi and Wyoming. Pennsylvania, the largest share of the pie remaining, has its primary scheduled for April 22.