Yet again, Hillary Clinton refused to let Barack Obama kill her White House dreams, pulling back from the brink of bankruptcy and extinction, with her Pennsylvania primary win. But it was still unclear whether her campaign-saving victory left Clinton's road to the White House any easier, as she still trails her Democratic rival in nominating contests, pledged delegates, fundraising and the popular vote. But Clinton's victory in the Pennsylvania primary did make one thing crystal clear: the never-say-die former first lady has no plans to leave this riveting, exhausting, presidential nominating battle any time soon. “Some people counted me out, and wanted me to drop out,” she told her victory party packed with maniacally cheering supporters at a downtown Philadelphia hotel. “Today here in Pennsylvania, you made your voices heard and because of you, the tide is turning.” “The American people do not quit, and they deserve an American president who does not quit either.” Clinton marched into a ballroom erupting in relief and euphoria, with a vow to fight on through the last nine nominating contests. Her latest campaign theme song by rocker Tom Petty belted out a stark message to Obama: “You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down.” Most observers said she needed double digits to sharply change the dynamic of the race. With more than 80 percent of precincts reporting in the gritty northeastern state, she was just below that threshold, leading Obama 55 percent to 45 percent. But Clinton's fourth win out of the last five Democratic contests may swell her emptying campaign coffers, gave her a rationale to carry on, and will allow more time to stoke more doubts over Obama's appeal in a general election. She also bolstered her narrative, that she is the only Democrat who can capture states like Ohio and Texas, crucial swing states in any general election. Her aides quickly raised new questions about Obama's viability in a general election against Republican pick John McCain in November – one of the few arguments that she has to counter Obama's mathematical advantage. Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said the win was “one more brick in the foundation of why this man cannot beat Hillary.” – Agencies Clinton in a big state?” “People have questions about him.” Clinton's Pennsylvania triumph, built on strong populist appeal to women, older voters and the under pressure working class, may have once again, crucially warded off an exodus of “superdelegates” to Obama. Superdelegates are the top party officials who will decide Democratic party nomination, since neither candidate can reach the 2,025 threshold need to claim the nomination outright. The Obama camp was quick to point out that he was always expected to lose here, after once trailing Clinton by 20 points. “We always knew Hillary Clinton was going to win,” Senator Claire McCaskill, an Obama backer, told MSNBC. “This is a tailor-made state for Hillary Clinton.” The next challenge for Clinton, on May 6, is Indiana, which appears to be a toss-up in terms of polling, and North Carolina, where one campaign official said it would take a “miracle” for her to win, given the high African American population which favors Obama. Worryingly for the Democratic leaders who fear the Clinton-Obama tussle is hurting the party's chances of beating McCain, they prepared the ground for a new round of fierce hardball politics -- though accusing Obama of starting it. “One thing I am certain of, and that is that the people of Indiana and North Carolina ought to brace themselves for an onslaught of negativity hitting their mailboxes, their telephones, and the airwaves coming from the Obama campaign,” said Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee. Her team also hopes that the victory will ignite a fresh injection of fundraising cash, as she wallows with $10.3 million of debts, and only $9.5 million cash on hand. They said she had taken in half a million dollars within an hour of polls closing on Tuesday, the fastest rate of the campaign. Obama has a huge cash advantage: as of April 1 he had $43 million available to fund his battle, and can mount a withering advertising barrage against her. __
