March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Rallying loyalists in San Antonio, Texas, last week, Hillary Clinton stood just a few hundred yards from an ominous symbol: the Alamo.

Like Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, Clinton, 60, may be making her last stand in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, recently told supporters that if she doesn't win today's primary contests in Texas and Ohio, she is unlikely to be the nominee.

To salvage her chances, the New York senator needs to narrow rival Barack Obama's lead of more than 100 delegates earned in 38 contests so far. Most of all, she needs to reverse the perception that the Illinois senator's momentum is unstoppable and that she should bow out of the race for the good of the party.

``We're in the fourth quarter here and time is running out, but one team is not three touchdowns ahead,'' said Mike Feldman, a Democratic strategist who advised Al Gore's 2000 presidential bid. ``I don't think it's a hopeless, lost cause'' for Clinton.

Clinton is fighting ferociously, and by every metric, is doing well -- except when compared with Obama, 46.

Her multistate itinerary features 20-hour days, with half a dozen events on top of press conferences and satellite interviews with distant markets. Clinton has seemed at times to be trying to win over voters one at a time, from an hour-long visit with an Appalachian family in their trailer to a stop at a pancake house.

Highlighting Proposals

Each day includes a small roundtable or town-hall meeting highlighting her proposals -- for poor children, veterans, energy independence, job creation, and homeowners facing foreclosure -- and, typically, one larger rally, drawing thousands.

Even so, her turnout numbers are dwarfed by her rival's rock concert-like crowds. Obama has focused mainly on mass rallies, often with 10,000 to 20,000 attendees, though in recent days he has added town-hall meetings and smaller events.

Clinton is also well-organized: In Ohio, she has 20 offices in the 18 congressional districts, said Isaac Baker, communications director for the state.

Last week, Bill Clinton kicked off an ``88 hours, 88 counties to victory'' push, with volunteers canvassing, distributing fliers and calling voters. The campaign held BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) parties, on the premise that a call from a fellow Ohioan carries more weight than an automated call.

A Million Knocks

Obama's campaign, meanwhile, set a goal to knock on 1 million doors in Ohio. He has 28 offices across the state.

In Texas, Clinton's campaign has 22 offices, and is close to reaching its goal of recruiting 8,300 precinct captains to lead caucuses that will begin after primary voting ends, said Adrienne Elrod, Clinton's Texas communications director. Texas has a mixed primary-caucus model that experts say will favor Obama; he has won most caucus states so far.

Nick Shapiro, Obama's Texas press secretary, said the campaign has ``more than 25'' offices and 150 staffers in the state.

Dozens of high-profile Latinos, including former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, and blacks, including poet Maya Angelou and basketball legend Magic Johnson, are campaigning for Clinton. She also has the support of prominent black congresswomen from Cleveland and Houston, where blacks comprise a significant portion of the electorate.

Eroding Her Advantage

Still, polls suggest Obama is eroding her advantage in Texas, much as he has in other states.

``Obama is probably the most talented candidate since John F. Kennedy or maybe Franklin D. Roosevelt, an aspirational figure offering a message of change'' that resonates with voters, said Steve McMahon, a Democratic strategist and veteran of several campaigns.

Clinton logged record fundraising in February thanks to 300,000 donors, two-thirds of them new ones. Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said another 50,000 contributions were made in the last 72 hours. Still, her $35 million last month was dwarfed by an estimated $50 million raised for Obama.

She has blitzed the airwaves, defending her record on trade and portraying Obama as naïve on foreign policy. But Obama's campaign and independent groups supporting him have outspent her 2-to-1 ($18.4 million to $9.2 million) in the four states voting today, which also include Rhode Island and Vermont, according to Clinton figures.

Oscillating Tone

In this make-or-break week, her tone toward Obama has oscillated from conciliatory to aggrieved to angry, as when she said last week that he twisted her position on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Her advisers questioned Obama's sincerity on renegotiating Nafta and his links to Chicago businessman Antoin Rezko, who went on trial on corruption charges yesterday.

She also aired a TV commercial saying America would be safer from a terrorist attack with her at the helm. The ad prompted a swift rebuttal spot from Obama charging that Clinton had already faced a national-security crisis -- her vote on whether to authorize the Iraq war -- and failed the test.

Even as Bill Clinton and prominent Democrats such as Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson have stressed the importance of Texas and Ohio, Clinton's top advisers have attempted to put a different spin on the contests in recent days.

If Obama doesn't sweep all four states, ``it sends a very clear signal that America wants this campaign to continue and that there is some concern and dissatisfaction'' with him, Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, said Feb. 29.

Texas is the biggest of four states holding nominating primaries today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Texas at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 4, 2008 09:24 EST