Clinton Camp's Three-Point Plan

Hillary Clinton's subdued communications team told reporters this morning that a path to the nomination remains for the candidate -- despite Clinton's resounding defeat in North Carolina yesterday and a disappointingly narrow win in Indiana. The outcome appeared to bring Barack Obama within 200 delegates of the 2,025 needed to secure the nomination. It also reinvigorated his campaign after his loss in Pennsylvania and the potentially-damaging re-emergence of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

"Indiana was obviously a close outcome, but it's an outcome about which we feel very very good," said Geoff Garin, Clinton's chief strategist. "It represents the first time, I believe, in this race that Sen. Clinton has come from behind to achieve a primary victory and that in the face of very substantial obstacles in terms of a great deal of spending by Sen. Obama at the end."

Clinton, Garin said, continues to run well with white voters, middle income voters, seniors and Catholics.

"We think that the results last night strengthen the case that she will be the strongest candidate for the Democratic Party in November," he added.

Communications Director Howard Wolfson outlined a path forward for the campaign that would begin next Tuesday with a win in the West Virginia primary. West Virginia, Wolfson said, represents a key swing state in the fall.

And, as the Clinton campaign has over the last several months, Wolfson emphasized the need to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan at the party's convention in Denver.

"This is a country of 50 states," Wolfson said. "All of them should be represented. We won significant victories in both Florida and Michigan. We believe that delegates from those states ought to be seated."

His third critical point is the one that could at this point in the contest, with the practical road to the nom looking every more improbable for Clinton, most enrage party leaders and fence-sitting Super Ds who want, above all, to win in November. Wolfson said the campaign will attempt over the next few weeks, until the primary contests wrap June 3, to make the case that Clinton is a "better match-up against John McCain than Barack Obama."

"Sen. Obama has not yet proven that he can win in the key swing states," Wolfson said, "has not yet proven that he can win the votes of blue collar workers. That will be the crux of the argument that we make to super delegates and voters going forward."

There was renewed buzz last night about the possibility that Clinton would join an Obama-topped ticket to unify the party after the contentious primary season. Wolfson, however, said the Clinton and Obama camps have not discussed the possibility.

"We have not had any conversations with the Obama campaign about such a ticket," he said. "I have not heard her evidence any interest in such a ticket. She is focused on the elections that are upcoming."

Wolfson said there have been "no discussions" about Clinton abandoning the campaign.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)