Clinton and Obama Preparing for Yet Another Showdown, This Time in Indiana, North Carolina

WASHINGTON — With her solid 10-point win in Pennsylvania primary behind her and a new infusion of cash, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton made the case Wednesday that she, not front-runner Barack Obama, would be the stronger candidate against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain this fall.

"At the end of the day, people have to decide who they think would be not only the best president, which is the most important question, but who would be the better candidate against Senator McCain," Clinton said on NBC's "Today" program. "And I think the coalition that I've put together, as demonstrated once again last night, is a very strong base for us to beat Senator McCain.

It was one of several TV interviews Clinton did on the morning after her 55-45 victory over Obama in Pennsylvania, a swing state that looms large in the Democratic Party's strategy every presidential election. And it came just before Clinton and Obama descended upon Indiana, which holds its presidential primary May 6 along with North Carolina. Obama has a sizeable lead in North Carolina, but the two candidates are in a tight race in Indiana, a state that Obama has described as a "tiebreaker" in the continuing campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton's campaign, outspent by Obama's in Pennsylvania by more than $6 million, reported raising $10 million online in the 24 hours since the New York senator was declared the winner in the six-weeks-long one-on-one showdown with Obama in the Keystone state.

Despite her lopsided victory in the popular vote in Pennsylvania, Clinton failed to overtake Obama's lead in the number of delegates to the national convention that will nominate the party's nominee in August. She won at least 81 of Pennsylvania's delegates, but Obama won at least 70, with seven still to be allocated. That brings Obama's total to 1,1719 delegates to Clinton's 1,591. To win the nomination, a candidate must have at least 2,025 delegates, but neither can reach that total without the support of superdelegates, the nearly 800 party leaders who also vote on the nomination.

Obama also leads in the cumulative popular vote in the Democratic primaries and caucuses, which began Jan. 3, although Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe predicted Tuesday night that Clinton would hold the popular vote lead before the nominating process ends on June 3.

Obama campaign chairman David Plouffe, in remarks to reporters, disputed the Clinton argument that she is the stronger candidate against McCain. "We think there is an enormous amount of data that shows we're the stronger candidate," he said. Moreover, he added, "We don't think the structure of the race is going to change fundamentally."

The six weeks leading up to the Pennsylvania primary were the most difficult yet for Obama, mostly because of controversies over his former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., and his comments about the bitterness of small town Americans during economically trying times.

Obama, in acknowledging his defeat to Clinton on Tuesday, suggested that such matters were trivial. But Wednesday, the state Republican Party in North Carolina began airing ads showing Wright making anti-American remarks and linking him to two of the state's Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and state Treasurer Richard Moore.

"Now, Bev Perdue and Richard Moore endorse Barack Obama," the ad says. "They should know better. He's just too extreme for North Carolina."

McCain has sent an e-mail to the North Carolina party saying the ad is "offensive" and urging it to take it off the air. But state party spokesman Brent Woodcox said, "We think this is a legitimate question to ask, and we don't think we're the only ones asking it."

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, however, nearly 50 of former Sen. John Edwards' most prominent backers disclosed their plans to support Obama in the state's May 6 primary. They include Raleigh lawyer Ed Turlington, who served as the national general chairman of Edwards' presidential campaign before it ended earlier this year.

There was also speculation, though, that Edwards' popular wife would make appearances with Clinton during the North Carolina campaign. The couple has declined to make an endorsement in the Democratic contest, but Elizabeth Edwards has praised Clinton's health care proposals.