Obama ahead of key races Tuesday WASHINGTON, March 1, SPA -- Analysts and even supporters of HillaryRodham Clinton have said she needs to win two big statesnext week to keep her presidential campaign afloat. But heradvisers are seeking to put the burden on front-runnerBarack Obama, saying if he doesn't sweep all four statesTuesday, it would show Democrats are having second thoughtsabout him, reported ap. Obama's string of 11 victories since the Feb. 5 «SuperTuesday» contests has raised questions about the viabilityof Clinton's candidacy. As recently as Feb. 20, even formerPresident Bill Clinton pinned his wife's hopes on Ohio, inthe Midwest, and Texas, in the South. «If she wins in Texas and Ohio, I think she'll be thenominee,» the former president told a Beaumont, Texas,audience. «If you don't deliver for her, I don't think shecan be.» But in an e-mail and conference call to reporters Friday,Clinton's campaign laid the groundwork to keep her campaignalive if the results are disappointing Tuesday in the fourstates, which also include Rhode Island and Vermont. Obama has been leading the former first lady in thepopular vote, committed delegates and fundraising. InFriday's conference call, senior Clinton strategist HowardWolfson seized on those facts to reshape expectations aboutthe Democratic contest. «They are outspending us at least two to one in Ohio andTexas,» Wolfson said. «If they are unable to win thesestates, it sends a very clear signal that Democrats wantthis campaign to continue. Obama has every advantage goinginto this election. If Senator Obama is in fact the defacto nominee, he ought to win all four.» A loss for Obama in even one of the four states Tuesdaywould indicate Democrats have developed a case of «buyer'sremorse,» Wolfson said. «It would show that Senator Obamais having trouble closing the deal with Democrats.» However, Bill Clinton's assertion that his wife must winboth Texas and Ohio to keep her campaign alive reflects awidely held view among political analysts. Polls now give her a modest lead in Ohio and show Texas isa toss-up; earlier she had large leads in both states. The New York senator campaigned with a backdrop ofmilitary leaders Friday in Texas, which has a largemilitary presence. She plans to spend Sunday rumbling across Ohio and tocampaign there again Monday morning. Clinton will thenreturn to Texas for a televised town hall meeting, andshe's purchased airtime to broadcast it across the state. Obama has announced he'll spend Tuesday night in Texas,one of the biggest prizes of the campaign. A win in Texaswould allow the Illinois senator to counter the Clintoncampaign's argument that although he's won more states,she's carried the big states like California, New York andNew Jersey. On Friday the candidates were tussling over a stark newClinton ad, in which she is portrayed as the leader voterswant on the phone when a crisis occurs in the middle of thenight, drawing criticism from Obama that she is trying toscare the American public. Clinton's commercial features images of sleeping childrenand suggests that voters would be safer with her in chargewhen a crisis happens «when your children are safe andasleep.» The ad was designed to appeal to women voters _ acore bloc Clinton needs in order to salvage her falteringcampaign in the March 4 races in Texas and Ohio. In a lightning response, Obama parodied her ad with one ofhis own _ the same ominously ringing phone, the sleepingchildren, the mood lighting, even the same introduction. The Obama ad intones: «In a dangerous world, it'sjudgment that matters.» Obama argued that when Clinton had her «red phonemoment,» as he put it in a speech earlier in the day, shevoted in the Senate for the war in Iraq, while he stoodagainst the war from the start. Clinton's foreboding ad prompted an immediate denunciationfrom Obama, who said it is meant to scare people. Clintonlater told a rally, «I don't think Texans scare veryeasily.» Clinton referred to Obama's new commercial during a rallyin San Antonio, Texas, on Friday night, noting that he'sneglecting real duties. «He was given an important responsibility in the Senateto chair a committee with responsibility for NATO,» saidClinton. «He didn't hold one substantive meeting.» Clinton, a second-term senator, is aiming to become thefirst woman president, casting herself as the candidatewith the years of service needed to take command on herfirst day in the White House. Obama, a first-term senatorwho hopes to be the first black U.S. president, is seekingto chip away at those arguments by suggesting he would havesuperior judgment.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/531910