(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-23 07:58

Psychotherapist Kathleen Gavin, 44, of Allentown, said Clinton, the former first lady, earned her vote "10 years ago."

"I don't think he has the experience, the wisdom or the presence that Hillary has," said Gavin.

A defeat for Clinton could spell the end of her candidacy. But a sizable win would strengthen her claim to being the stronger general election opponent, an argument she has made to Democratic officeholders and other superdelegates who hold the balance of power at the party convention in Denver in August.

Whatever the outcome, the six-week run-up to the primary was notable for close-to-the-ground campaigning normally reserved for the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, and for the decidedly negative tone of its final few days.

Flush with cash, Obama reported spending $11.2 million on television in the state, compared with $4.8 million for Clinton.

The tone of the campaign was increasingly personal.

"In the last 10 years Barack Obama has taken almost $2 million from lobbyists, corporations and PACs. The head of his New Hampshire campaign is a drug company lobbyist, in Indiana an energy lobbyist, a casino lobbyist in Nevada," said a Clinton commercial that aired in the final days of the race.

Obama responded with an ad that accused Clinton of "eleventh-hour smears paid for by lobbyist money." It said that unlike his rival, he "doesn't take money from special interest PACs or Washington lobbyists -- not one dime."

To the delight of Republicans, the six-week layoff between primaries produced a string of troubles for the Democrats.

Obama was forced onto the defensive by incendiary comments by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, then triggered controversy on his own by saying small-town Americans cling to guns and religion because of their economic hardships.

Clinton conceded that she had not landed under sniper fire in Bosnia while first lady, even though she said several times that she had. And she replaced her chief strategist, Mark Penn, after he met with officials of the Colombian government seeking passage of a free trade agreement that she opposes.

McCain, the Republican nomination already his, rose in the polls as he prepared for the fall campaign.

The remaining Democratic contests are primaries in North Carolina, Indiana, Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia, Montana, South Dakota and Puerto Rico, and caucuses in Guam.

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