(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-24 07:51

WASHINGTON - Exuding fresh confidence after her Pennsylvania primary win, Hillary Rodham Clinton turned attention Wednesday to contests in Indiana and North Carolina and pressed her case that she can still win the Democratic presidential nomination despite the odds against her.

In a round of morning television interviews, Clinton argued that her feisty act of political survival, defeating Barack Obama in Pennsylvania by more than nine points, confirms her contention that she would be the stronger challenger against Republican John McCain because she has shown she can win in big, swing states.

"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. 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," Clinton told NBC's "Today."

The New York senator also said she wants new debates before the May 6 contests in North Carolina, where the flush-with-money Obama is favored; and Indiana, where the two are close. Both candidates planned appearances in Indiana on Wednesday.

Obama managed to stave off an eyebrow-arching blowout in Pennsylvania by Clinton even while falling short in his effort to bring the polarizing competition effectively to a close. Despite his defeat, he gained the support of Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, a superdelegate to the national convention.

Clinton also picked up a superdelegate, Tennessee Rep. John Tanner. And, she had raised $3.5 million in the hours after her victory, and was on track to collect $10 million in the 24 hours since the polls closed in Pennsylvania. The campaign said it was her best fundraising day ever. Desperate to fight on against a flush Obama, Clinton could use the money.

Earlier this week, her campaign revealed it had just over $9 million in the bank at the end of March, matched by $10 million in debt. Obama began April with more than $40 million to spend.

Their Keystone state matchup was fierce and bitter, which seemed to harden attitudes among Democrats even as McCain tended to the unification of the GOP and campaigned across the country in preparation for the fall. Only half of each Democrat's supporters said they would be satisfied if the other Democrat won the nomination, according to interviews with voters as they left polling stations.

"After 14 long months, it's easy to forget what this campaign's about from time to time," Obama told an Evansville, Ind., rally, Tuesday night, obliquely conceding that the Pennsylvania race turned nasty.

"It's easy to get caught up in the distractions and the silliness and the tit-for-tat that consumes our politics, the bickering that none of us are entirely immune to, and it trivializes the profound issues: two wars, an economy in recession, a planet in peril, issues that confront our nation. That kind of politics is not why we are here tonight. It's not why I'm here, and it's not why you're here."

Obama wasted no time making tracks to Indiana. His plane was in the air when the primary was called in Clinton's favor, which he learned upon landing.

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