from Fox News
Running On Fumes, Clinton Goes For Carolina Comeback
RALEIGH, NC — Hillary Clinton wrapped up a grueling day at the end of a grueling week on the campaign trail with a free-wheeling mini-rally at the state fairgrounds — giving the crowd some hope that she’d be able to pull off what her state director has called “the upset of the century” in North Carolina on Tuesday.
“Three weeks ago we were 39 points behind, and those were the best polls,” she said. “We’ve made some progress, we have a long way to go just to get within the ballpark.”
She faces distinct demographic disadvantages in the Tar Heel state. 35% or more of the Democratic electorate is African American, and North Carolina has as many public universities as any state in the union. Black and highly educated voters have been bastions of support for Sen Obama. But Clinton is targeting veterans and soldiers in the state full of military bases, and hitting as many small towns and rural areas as she can — hoping big margins among white, working class voters can make up the difference.
The New York Senator’s advantage here could just be old fashioned hard work. At this her fifth event of the day, Clinton admitted that she and campaign partner Governor Mike Easley were “running on fumes.”
“But we’re working hard, we’re traveling across this state,” she said. “I’ve lost track of how many towns we’ve been to.”
Another not-so-secret weapon for the Clinton campaign: an equally indefatigable surrogate in President Bill Clinton. “My husband is going to visit every place where 2 or more people gather in North Carolina before Tuesday,” she told the crowd. “This makes him feel like we’re back in Arkansas, where we campaigned across Arkansas all the time.”
Recalling driving across Arkansas during Clinton’s successful 1982 campaign to retake the Governorship he lost in 1980, Clinton said “it was a bit like my campaign. People didn’t think he was ever going to be able to pull it off.”
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