Clinton Cuts Short Stay in Wisconsin As Obama Gains Ground

Hillary Clinton yesterday cut short a campaign swing through Wisconsin in a further sign of trouble for her attempt to break Barack Obama's winning streak in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Her campaign, citing winter storm warnings, canceled events that would have kept Clinton in the state through tomorrow, when Wisconsin and Hawaii go to the polls. Instead, she will leave today.

The early exit suggests Clinton has given up hope of a win in the state, despite only a narrow lead for Obama in the polls. It also reaffirms the do-or-die nature of the primary contests in Texas and Ohio on March 4.

The daunting challenge for Clinton to reverse Obama's momentum has fed suspicion that her campaign will try to extract a win through the support of super delegates, prominent Democrats who can vote freely at the convention.

Reports at the weekend said some super delegates, including Al Gore, who have remained neutral, are discussing how to use their influence to make sure the nomination reflects the will of voters rather than a back room deal.

The super delegates are not bound by primary and caucus results, and account for nearly 800 of the 2,025 delegates needed to secure the nomination. "I just think it would be a disaster for the Democratic party to thwart what has happened in the caucuses and the primaries," said Jim Doyle, governor of Wisconsin.

After eight consecutive wins for Obama, Clinton has turned to a direct assault on her opponent's main strength: his inspirational stump speech. "It's not about speeches for me. It's not about the bright lights and the cameras," she told a party dinner in Milwaukee on Saturday. "It's about the changes we can make that actually deliver results in people's lives."

Obama, in his speech, responded. "Don't tell me words don't matter," he said. "If we don't inspire the country to believe again, then it doesn't matter how many policies and plans we have."

The two camps have also faced off in negative television adverts, with Clinton accusing Obama of dodging a debate and scrutiny of his record. The two will debate on February 21 and February 26.

There were signs that Clinton was losing ground in Wisconsin, even though polls last week showed Obama only 4% ahead. Obama outspent Clinton on television advertising by a 4-1 margin and had adverts on the air five days before her, according to Wispolitics, a political website.

The gap suggests the Clinton campaign remains in a cash crunch despite claims to have raised $10m (£5m). It has held almost daily conference calls with journalists to try to gain coverage without paid advertising. Obama, meanwhile, has the support of governor Doyle, and on Saturday was endorsed by the biggest newspaper in the state, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.