A day after losing the Wisconsin primary to Barack Obama, in another crushing setback, Hillary Clinton having now lost 10 primary or caucus's in a row, finds herself practically on the brink of elimination, needing wins in Ohio and Texas (March 4th) to keep her hopes of winning the nomination alive..
        Not only does the New York senator need to win in Ohio and Texas, so the pundits say, she needs to win in convincing fashion, something approaching 60 percent of the vote in order to stay even in the delegate count. According to the latest Associated Press tally, Obama has 1,336 delegates to Clinton’s 1,251, with 2,025 needed to secure the nomination 
        Losses to Obama in Ohio and Texas, along with with Vermont and Rhode Island, would be fatal; not only would it put her further behind in the delegate count; it might result in superdelegates (public office holders and party activists) who have committed to her well before Obamania took hold, to abandon ship and turn their allegiance toward Obama in keeping with the will of the majority of Democratic voters.
        So beginning tonight during the Democratic debate in Austin, Texas, Clinton needs to deliver a knockdown punch to send a message to voters and members within her own party, that substance and solutions over Obama’s ``eloquent but empty calls for change’’ as John McCain said the other night, is what the country is really itching for.
        It’s a steep mountain to climb, but it’s not impossible; wins in Ohio and Texas; and another in Pennsylvania on April 22nd, and the pendulum could very well swing back to Team Clinton.
        Besides, this country is known for historic comebacks. Here is a list of some of my favorite comebacks.

1.) Frank Sinatra
Since 1952 Ol’ Blue Eyes feels his career slipping away, until landing the role of Angelo Maggio in ``From Here to Eternity'' in 1953, earning him an Academy Award, which led to roles in ``Guys and Dolls'', ``The Tender Trap'', and ``The Man With The Golden Arm''; including a new recording contract with Capitol Records.

 2.) Bill Clinton
After finishing second to Paul Tsongas in the 1992 New Hampshire primary, and questions raised about possible extramarital affairs, drug use, and draft dodging, Clinton labels himself the ``The Comeback Kid’’ and wins the Democratic nomination. But this comeback was nothing compared to the way he bounced back after the Monica Lewinsky scandal, just barely staying in office when the Senate defeated two articles of impeachment brought against him by the House of Representatives, and still managed to register a higher public approval rating during his second term of office.

3.) Richard Nixon
Has a demoralizing debate against John F. Kennedy, loses the 1960 election; loses again in the 1962 California governor’s race; only to comeback in 1968 and win the White House.

4.) The Boston Red Sox
After being down 0-3 to their eastern rivals, the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox exorcise the ``Curse of the Bambino'' by coming back to win four straight, to become the first club in Major League history to come back from such a deficit.

5.)  Al Gore
Loses the 2000 election to George W. Bush. Gets turned away again by the U.S. Supreme Court in his recount bid; but returns seven years later earning rock star status for his documentary ``An Inconvenient Truth’’ about global warming, winning  an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Nobel Peace Prize.

6.)  John McCain
Loses his bid for the Republican nomination to George Bush in 2000; in 2008, at the age of 71, with his campaign almost bankrupt, was given a slim chance of competing against Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, the presumptive frontrunners for the nomination.

7.) Rudy Giuliani
Riding out his last term as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani was content to quietly fade into the sunset. Sept 11, 2001 changed all of that; practically overnight, the Republican mayor rises to Churchillian status in leading the city back from the depths after despair after one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in American history.

8.) Ronald Reagan
March 30, 1981, at age 69, Ronald Reagan is shot from a would- be-assassin’s bullet, John Hinckley, in front of the Washington Hilton hotel. The Gipper survives, less than a month later, he address a joint meeting of Congress to urge the passage of his economic policy.

9.) Willis Reed
Nursing a muscle injury in his right thigh, Willis Reed courageously limps on to the court in front of a thunderous mob gathered at Madison Square Garden to help the New York Knicks in a 113-99 thriller over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals

10.) Maria Carey
In 2001, Mimi’s motion picture ``Glitter'' bombed at the box office, she had a nervous breakdown, broke up with her boyfriend, and her record company EMI bought out her contract.
In 2005, Carey releases the ``Emancipation of Mimi.'' In addition to selling over five million copies, the album earns the pop star 3 Grammy awards and a renewed appreciation from music critics

    -Bill Lucey
     billlucey@bellsouth.net