SAN ANTONIO — The candidates have until midnight to raise money for the month of February (and its one extra day this year).

Team Obama has been coy about its figure, saying only that it's "considerably more" than Sen. Hillary Clinton's $35 million month. Some rumors suggest it could be $50 million or more.

It is clear they are still aiming to boost the total, as the campaign sent supporters this text message today:

Show your support for Barack before March 4th by using discount code TEXT for an extra 20% off Obama gear at store.barackobama.com. Please fwd msg.

A visit to the Obama store yields some curious items in addition to the usual bumper stickers and baseball caps, and every dollar spent goes toward the February fundraising total.

Like this t-shirt, which is amusing since 1) Arkansas is Clinton's home state and 2) it already voted on Super Tuesday.

In the discount section, an Obama ornament is on sale for $6 and you can buy a white "Ladies Tank" for $8.

The store also warns Obama shoppers that due to "overwhelming" orders, it could take up to three weeks for delivery.

Clinton had her own last minute appeal today:

I think everyone knows how important the races we face on March 4 are. But there's one thing you need to know: I am relying on you to win.

You are my best supporters, and over the past weeks you have made this campaign your own. Now with just a few days to go before the critical March 4 contests, I have to ask you to act one more time -- because you can make a difference on Tuesday.

We are making our final push in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont and we need you to reach deep and make a contribution to my campaign today.

I know that this may be the first time you have made a donation online, but imagine if 30,000 online supporters like you each make a contribution to our campaign in the next 48 hours. A donation of as little as $5 can make the difference and will send a message that voters in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont will hear loud and clear.

Contribute now to win big on March 4.

I'm campaigning nonstop between now and Tuesday. You and I know what is at stake -- our ability to stand up and fight for the values we believe in.

We've defied expectations before. We've won when they counted us out. Together we can win big on March 4 and keep on winning until we are in the White House.

But it all comes down to what we do today. If 30,000 of you make your voice heard with a contribution, even as little as $5, you will be speaking loud and clear with one voice -- a voice that no one will be able to ignore.

Contribute now to win in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

You have sacrificed and spoken out, given your time and money so that we can win. But I have never needed you like I do today, and I hope that you will be there for me.

Thank you so much for everything that you do.

Sincerely,

Hillary

UPDATE, 9:20 P.M. central: As we showed up at the Obama rally in San Antonio, I realized something else about the fundraising numbers. Every t-shirt and lapel pin sold tonight gets added into the February total.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Sen. Barack Obama — fueled with a lot of cash — already has aired this response ad to Sen. Hillary Clinton's "Children" ad:

Here's the script:

It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep.

But there's a phone ringing in the White House.

Something's happening in the world.

When that call gets answered, shouldn't the president be the one — the only one — who had judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start?

Who understood the REAL threat to America was al Qaeda, in Afghanistan, not Iraq?

Who led the effort to secure loose nuclear weapons around the globe?

In a dangerous world, it's judgment that matters.

I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Sen. Barack Obama will be holding a conversation about faith here shortly.

In the meantime, I'll flag a few stories.

I've got a story up from this morning examining the ad war raging in Texas.

HOUSTON, Texas — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is targeting her Democratic rival with a new ad that asks voters who they want in the White House during a national security crisis.

"It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, but there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing," a narrator says in her new ad, playing in Texas before the state's March 4 contest.

On the screen are dark images of children sleeping and a mother checking on them. Mrs. Clinton does not speak in the ad beyond the required disclosure that she approved the message.

“Something's happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call," it continues. "Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders, knows the military — someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world."

The ad does not mention Sen. Barack Obama, but the implication is clear — the former first lady has long been portraying her rival as less experienced on national security. She evokes September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the stump and her role as a New York senator in the aftermath.

Read the rest here.

And in this morning's print edition, S.A. Miller and I have a piece up about the fundraising race:

BEAUMONT, Texas — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign portrayed itself as on the rebound yesterday, when announcing a record fundraising haul of $35 million in one month.

Her rival Sen. Barack Obama guaranteed it would top that figure and rejected claims of overconfidence even though he leaves every stump speech to Stevie Wonder's classic song "Signed, Sealed, Delivered."

The former first lady said the $35 million flood of donations "says a lot" about the reinvigorated support for her run after the campaign was on the financial ropes a month ago, forcing her to lend it $5 million out of her pocket. She said the campaign still owes her.

"When people found out that we didn't have the resources to compete, and I did put my own money in, it just set off a chain reaction across the country," Mrs. Clinton told reporters after a rally in Hanging Rock, Ohio. "Hundreds of thousands of people [were] saying, 'Wait a minute. We want this campaign to go on. We support her and we believe in her and I'm going to show that by contributing.' "

About 200,000 new donors in the course of a month had chipped in at the campaign Web site, each giving a small contribution. The average donation was about $100, she said: "people want this campaign to go on."

Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said the New York senator is in the race for the "long haul," talking up the upcoming contests and races as far away as Puerto Rico in June. He said the campaign has brought in $167 million since announcing her bid, $135 million of which can be used for the primary.

"We have the resources to play in the big states coming up ... and states beyond," he said. "Let me be very clear, what Hillary is going to do is she's going to win this nomination."

The campaign has been sending out fundraising appeals all week noting that Mr. Obama is outspending Mrs. Clinton in Texas and Ohio and "has virtually unlimited funds."

Read the rest — which includes more of the Obama talking points against Sen. John McCain — here.

Washington Times' photo divas Allison Shelley and Astrid Riecken crafted this gallery with great shots from both Clinton and Obama planes (and buses) yesterday.

Finally, Newsweek took some fun video from the trail this week.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

HOUSTON — Sen. Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, responded just now to the new Clinton ad while talking to reporters on a conference call.

The ad, running for Sen. Hillary Clinton in Texas, shows sleeping children at 3 a.m. and notes, "But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing ... Your vote will decide who answers that call."

Plouffe's rebuttal: Clinton "had her red phone moment" in 2002 when she voted for the Iraq war.

"This is about what you say when you answer that phone, what kind of judgment you demonstrate" he said, dismissing the ad as a "shop-warn" tactic."

"We agree that voters are thinking about who they believe is best able to keep them safe and protect the country and increasingly ... they have been settling on Senator Obama," Plouffe said, pointing voters to this national security spot:

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

HOUSTON — Sen. Hillary Clinton is up with a new ad today that portrays the former first lady as more experienced and ready to handle that tough 3 a.m. phone call.

Here's the script for "Children:"

It's 3am and your children are safe and asleep

But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing

Something's happening in the world

Your vote will decide who answers that call.

Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders, knows the military — someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world

It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep

Who do you want answering the phone?

The campaign billed the commercial as a "national security ad" that "asks voters who they want in the White House during a crisis."

Along with its release the campaign included a statement from supporter Gen. Wesley Clark.

"Inevitably, another national security crisis will occur. And when it does, voters shouldn't have to wonder whether their President will be ready. As president, Hillary will be ready to act swiftly and decisively," he said.


— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

BEAUMONT, Texas — Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe told donors on a conference call just now that Sen. Hillary Clinton raised $35 million in the month of February.

It's a quick push back to Sen. Barack Obama's announcement yesterday that he'd collected cash from more than one million donors since he joined the race in January 2007.

McAuliffe said Clinton has brought in $167 million since announcing her bid, $135 million of that can be used for the primary.

He referenced Clinton's $5 million loan and the outpouring of cash that came when she told voters she had put in her own money to remain competitive with Obama.

"It has never stopped," McAuliffe said. People wanted to say, "I want to fight with you."

He added Clinton, who is slipping in the polls as Obama gains momentum, is "in this thing for the long haul."

"We have the resources to play in the big states coming up," he said, though the campaign has sent out several appeals for cash stating that Obama is outspending them by big numbers.

Obama held a brief press conference on the plane from Austin to here, and said he wasn't sure what his campaign's fundraising totals would be. Though there are rumors it will be $50 million or more, and his spokesman has said the total would be "considerably" more than Clinton's. The candidates will be collecting cash for this month up to midnight tomorrow.

Clinton Internet director Peter Daou noted that $30 million came from grassroots donations online and have been "Nothing short of astounding."

Campaign manager Maggie Williams batted down stories of "bad morale" and said Clinton is the "best candidate in this race."

"I want you to know that what you have given us in terms of resources has helped us to be strategic and smart about how we play this campaign," Williams told the donors, adding that "certainly" they can use more cash.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

AUSTIN, Texas — File this under the "for what it's worth" category.

Ten minutes after his town hall ended and as Sen. Barack Obama worked the rope line and reporters packed up at the back of the auditorium, ears perked up when his voice came through the speakers.

"Where's Amy and Chase? Your son's in here," he said. It turned out the boy's name was Chase, but after that confusion Obama helped the child spot his mom. The family was reunited and the crowd applauded.

Also, this Daily Show clip is making the rounds today:

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

AUSTIN, Texas — Watchdog group Judicial Watch responds to the back-and-forth on Sen. Hillary Clinton's public schedules as first lady.

Here are some excerpts from the full release on what they are calling Clinton's "disinformation" and purposely delaying:

The way Judicial Watch sees it: Hillary Clinton continues stonewalling the release of her First Lady records and in the last debate against rival Barack Obama she actually blamed the Bush administration for not releasing the highly-sought documents.

In the nationally televised debate, in response to a question about a Judicial Watch lawsuit to obtain her office schedules and other documents, Clinton said that she has urged the quick release of the records and implied that President George W. Bush is responsible for the hold up, saying that he “claims the right to look at anything that is released” and urging the Bush White House to “move as quickly as possible.”

The reality is that Clinton’s husband has the power to speed the release of the documents if he wanted to. Instead, the infamous former first couple is purposely delaying the release of crucial information in the midst of the primaries.

Judicial Watch sued the National Archives to obtain thousands of documents from Clinton’s tenure as First Lady, including her daily schedules and work as head of the miserably failed and costly White House task force on health care. As a result of one of these lawsuits, the Department of Justice confirmed that the National Archives and Records Administration finished processing 10,000 pages of Hillary’s schedules last month.

That means the documents are ready to be made public and their release rests with Bill Clinton. In the past, the former president has publicly stated his desire to have his wife’s entire records released immediately and has blamed the National Archives for the delay.

....

The Archives has the discretion to release the former First Lady’s daily schedules after 30 days notice to Bill Clinton and President Bush. (The Bush White House simply has no authority to delay the release of the documents past the 30 days and has said it would move to speed its review along. No such promises have been made by the Clintons.) Again, this 30 day clock began ticking on February 1.

...

Yesterday, the AP wrote up that Clinton now says her tax returns won't be released before the next contests in Texas and Ohio.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

AUSTIN, Texas — So far, it's a better day as we wait for Sen. Barack Obama to start a town hall on the economy here.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is touring Appalachia and speaking about child poverty and child hunger today, the campaign informs us.

Also hot off the Hillary presses, courtesy of the morning "Hubdate": "Today, volunteers hold honk and wave events in 22 cities across Ohio."

We've got a few political stories up this morning. S.A. Miller and I have a piece looking at the Clinton-Obama race.

DUNCANSVILLE, Texas — Sen. Barack Obama announced yesterday he has collected campaign money from more than 1 million donors, shattering records as rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was in the race for the long haul.

"I've been funded by you," Mr. Obama told a voter, who asked if he would keep his promises should he be elected in November, during a town hall forum in suburban Dallas.

"I don't have any strings attached to me. The only people I owe are you," he said, because he has not accepted lobbyist donations.

Mrs. Clinton, earlier yesterday, said she disagreed with criticism that she lacked a "knockout" in Tuesday's debate.

"That's a prize fight; that's not a debate," the New York senator said, adding that the debate in Cleveland succeeded in drawing "real contrasts" with Mr. Obama, of Illinois.

Mrs. Clinton — who has lost 11 consecutive contests to Mr. Obama but closely trails him in nominating delegates — said she is optimistic about wins in potentially pivotal primaries Tuesday in the delegate-rich states of Ohio and Texas.

"I'm doing everything I can to win," Mrs. Clinton told reporters on her plane en route from Cleveland to Zanesville, Ohio, an impoverished Appalachian town, to campaign on her economic-recovery plan.

Read the rest here.

But it seems there's already another race going on - between Obama and Sen. John McCain. I helped Stephen Dinan with his preview of a potential general election battle:

In a sneak preview of the ground that both men would defend if they face each other in the presidential election, John McCain yesterday accused Sen. Barack Obama of misreading the war in Iraq and Mr. Obama accused the Arizona senator of getting it wrong in the first place.

The exchange, which came even as the two men are still trying to wrap up their own party nominations, underscored Mr. McCain's belief that he must confront Iraq head-on by pointing to a continued terrorist threat there and signaled Mr. Obama's approach of tying his opponent to President Bush and questioning the decision to go to war in the first place.

Mr. McCain fired first, blasting the Illinois senator for saying that after he withdraws U.S. forces, he would consider sending troops back if al Qaeda establishes a base there.

"I have some news. Al Qaeda is in Iraq. It's called 'al Qaeda in Iraq,' " Mr. McCain told a crowd in Tyler, Texas.

Mr. Obama, campaigning in Columbus, Ohio, soon returned fire of his own: "I've got some news for John McCain, that is there was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade."

The war remains unpopular in opinion polls, and Mr. McCain is fond of saying he risked his political career in the Republican primary by embracing Mr. Bush's troop surge.

Read the rest here.

Team Obama says their candidate will be hitting McCain again today on the economy. Stay tuned.

Finally, the CST's Lynn Sweet and ABC's Sunlen Miller and Mark Halperin each blogged about portions of our day of mishaps last night.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

ON THE BUS BETWEEN AUSTIN and SAN MARCOS, Texas — If any members of Sen. Barack Obama's traveling press were tempted to offer him a pillow this morning, that desire had surely worn off by the end of the evening.

It started — after a 7 a.m. call time — when the Obama plane was delayed on the tarmac for de-icing. But we still took off as the snow poured down.

(Here's the snarkier version of our de-icing experience.)

Then everyone buzzed about news of Rep. John Lewis switching to Obama from Sen. Hillary Clinton. Campaign aides wouldn't confirm it, saying they knew nothing and could tell us nothing because Obama hadn't yet spoken with the congressman personally.

We got a heads up that Obama would be making news with a new criticism aimed at Sen. John McCain, but most couldn't hear it clearly from where we were set up behind the risers at the Ohio State event in Columbus.

Then the campaign held a conference call, which tripped up some bloggers awaiting Lewis news.

Still without confirmation of Lewis and stuck in the air for two hours, no one could file reports even though we were sure the endorsement was (really) happening. What do you know, when we landed, the news had gotten out and the campaign had forwarded along an Atlanta Journal Constitution item. Patience was wearing thin.

Throughout the day we waited on a bus parked so close to the bus in front of us we were choking from the fumes.

We'd had no interaction with the senator, who slept on the flight from Columbus to Dallas. By the time we landed in Dallas we were (more) tired and grouchy, and most of us were out of laptop and BlackBerry batteries with a 30-minute bus ride ahead and East Coast deadlines.

After the event in Duncansville, Obama taped an interview with Ellen DeGeneres that staffers hadn't told the press corps about. I watched in a satellite truck and he made no (substantive) news, but couldn't do a pool report since the Ellen folks aren't releasing the transcript until late tonight for the airing tomorrow or later this week. Reporters weren't happy.

To add insult to injury, reporters were shooed away tonight when Obama stopped to take pictures with a crew of police on motorcycles. That might not be a significant photo-op under normal circumstances, but we were in Dallas. These officers lost one of their own last week when Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada-Tirado was killed in a wreck while traveling as part of Sen. Hillary Clinton's motorcade.

Journos who tried to take some video of Obama greeting and snapping photos with the officers — which he does in every city — were told they had to get on the plane.

It seemed like it would have gotten better when a vigorously chewing (presumably Nicorette) Obama wandered back to chat with the scribes from rows 10 and back. It was an opportune moment for him to catch us off guard since he chose to come back as reporters were eating messy BBQ sandwiches. (My sauce became item No. 3 I've spilled in the last 24 hours.)

He complimented Maureen Dowd ("I like you plenty," he said, before telling her that reading her column puts hair on his chest), quipped that everyone sitting in her row — which included Jonathan Alter and Richard Wolffe — was a pundit.

He said he doesn't read blogs, then weighed in on USA Today ("solid for what it does") and said he reads the Post and the Times.

Before he brushed past the reporters and embedded journos, saying he needed to talk to photographers who felt "neglected," I teasingly offered Obama one of the airline pillows.

He seemed to be in no mood, tried to ignore it at first but held it for a second, unsmiling, before handing it back.

The photographers showed off some of their shots plastered on the overhead bins in the back of the plane, and he came back quoting Howlin' Wolf's "Wang Dang Doodle" as he went back to his first class seat.

For what it's worth, the chorus is: "We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long."

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

DALLAS — My colleague Jon Ward flagged an interesting exchange from the White House gaggle today about Sen. Hillary Clinton's schedules from her years as first lady.

Clinton, in last night's debate, suggested the Bush administration was dragging its feet on releasing the records.

Dana Perino, speaking to reporters today, noted "That pace is set by the Clinton representative," to release the records.

Here's the debate exchange from last night:

MR. RUSSERT: One other issue. You talked about releasing documents. On January 30th, the National Archives released 10,000 pages of your public schedule as first lady. It's now in the custody of former President Clinton. Will you release that -- again, during this primary season that you claim that eight years of experience, let the public know what you did, who you met with those eight years?

SEN. CLINTON: Absolutely. I've urged that the process be as quick as possible. It's a cumbersome process, set up by law. It doesn't just apply to us, it applies to everyone in our position. And I have urged that our end of it move as expeditiously as we can. Now, also, President Bush claims the right to look at anything that is released, and I would urge the Bush White House to move as quickly as possible.

MR. RUSSERT: But you've had it for more than a month. Will you get to him -- will you get it to the White House immediately?

SEN. CLINTON: As soon as we can, Tim. I've urged that, and I hope it will happen.

Here's the Q-and-A with Dana Perino:

Q. She (Senator Clinton) was asked about her public schedule and papers that were released from the National Archives to her husband back on January 30th. She says that she will release these papers as soon as she can. She said in her comments to Tim that President Bush claims the right to look at anything that is released, seeming to suggest that maybe that's sort of one of the reasons she hasn't released this sort of information.
I'm wondering have you, A, been approached, has the administration, the President been approached by the Clinton folks about releasing any of these papers? Has there been any reservation on behalf of the administration that would say we don't want to release any public schedule papers of Senator Clinton while she was First Lady? And second, can you sort of tell me about the process, is this fairly common, where they just go, okay, I want to release these papers, I go to the next administration and say, here are 10,000 papers -- and then you guys sort of have to vet each and every page?

DANA PERINO: The White House reviews the notices from the National Archives as quickly as practicable. No action can be taken until the Clinton representative notifies the archives of his decision whether to release or withhold any material. As of right now, there are none that are ripe for White House action that we know of. And, no, to my knowledge we have not been contacted by Mrs. Clinton or anyone else about moving more quickly with the review and release of Clinton material, specifically, her schedules. That pace is set by the Clinton representative to review the requested material once he receives notice from the National Archives (subject to the review period established in the National Archives regulations). On January 31, we were notified by the National Archives that they propose to release over 11,000 pages of records in whole or in part relating to the schedules of the First Lady Hillary Clinton. Former President Clinton's representative was notified concurrently. Presently, we have not received notice that the Clinton representative has reached a decision on the release or withholding of any of Mrs. Clinton's schedules.

Here's the White House explainer:

To give you an understanding of the process, the White House Counsel's office receives notification from the National Archives that it proposes to release records. We then wait for the representative for President Clinton (Bruce Lindsey) to review those records and make a decision whether to withhold or release them. If the Clinton representative approves the release of the records, we act as quickly as practicable to review the notice and any records that we believe this Administration's interests or equities in some way (eg. Clinton records dealing with the transition to the current Bush Administration). In any event, it is our intent and has been the practice to act on any requests as quickly as possible. To date, over 550,000 pages have been released in whole or in part and we have not made a decision to object to the release of any Clinton records.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — On board Sen. Barack Obama's plane, we're taking off right now, and fortunately the wings no longer look like this. We are late for a rally in Columbus that starts at 10:30.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — We're on the tarmac waiting to take off for Columbus in what I think anyone could fairly label a scary snowstorm.

There are heaps of snow on the wings outside the window.

The press corps has voted to head straight to Texas and skip the remaining Ohio events, but chances are Sen. Barack Obama, still down in Ohio polls, won't agree.

Our story from last night centered on the foreign policy debate:

CLEVELAND — Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Barack Obama weathered some "glancing blows" as his rival and moderators challenged his experience in last night's debate, but he emerged relatively unscathed.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had been expected to unload a barrage of attacks on Mr. Obama, and even top Obama advisers conceded that the New York senator landed several blows last night, keeping the new Democratic front-runner on the defensive.

The debate yielded a lengthy discussion about foreign policy.

Mrs. Clinton mispronounced the name of Vladimir Putin's presumptive successor as Russian president, smiling and saying "whatever" after she had trouble with First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's last name, reminiscent of George W. Bush's bungling foreign leaders' names as a candidate in 2000.

Mr. Obama, of Illinois, did not take the opportunity to point out Mr. Medvedev's first name, but his strategist David Axelrod said he knows the man's name.

"Having seen Senator Clinton try and fail, I think he didn't want to try," Mr. Axelrod said.

Mrs. Clinton noted that her rival talks about Afghanistan but has held "not one substantive hearing to figure out what we can do to actually have a stronger presence with NATO in Afghanistan" in his subcommittee that has jurisdiction over NATO.

Mr. Obama explained that he became chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee subpanel on Europe at the beginning of his campaign in 2007.

Read the rest here, and here are some photos from last night.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — Sen. Hillary Clinton tonight criticized the media for being Obama-friendly, for the second time this week referencing this Saturday Night Live clip from over the weekend.

"If anybody saw 'Saturday Night Live,' maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow," she said.

On this topic, my friend Carrie Budoff Brown has a good piece up over at Politico today, noting how few press availabilities reporters are often fenced off from actual voters at Obama rallies.

I've been traveling with Obama since Friday, and had that happen a few times at large rallies so I snuck into the crowd when I could. But he's also held three press conferences since.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — Meet your debate writing/blogging team: S.A. Miller and I, now no longer wearing Cleveland State Vikings hats, have joined forces in Ohio.

The debate starts in about an hour and as we noted earlier, expectations are high.

From our end at the Wolstein Center, Miller is wondering which one of the folks on the stage will say, "Hello Cleveland!"

Also amusing, former presidential hopeful Rep. Dennis Kucinich, facing a primary challenge here for his Congressional seat, is a debate ad sponsor.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — S.A. Miller and I have a story up setting the scene for tonight's debate:

Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Barack Obama today said he didn't expect a fiery debate tonight with rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"I'm sure it will be conducted in a civil fashion," the Illinois senator said. "I would expect [Mrs. Clinton] to argue vigorously her case for why she should be president and I'm sure she'll point out differences she had with me."

It is the 20th time the two will face off and perhaps the last time this campaign season.

The debate presents Mrs. Clinton of New York one of her last chances to trip up Mr. Obama's meteoric rise before March 4 contests in Texas and Ohio, which could make or break the Clinton campaign after losing 11 consecutive state primaries.

Clinton campaign officials declined to divulge debate strategy, but Mrs. Clinton is expected to take sharp aim at her opponent tonight.

Mr. Obama, who admits stumbling in his answers at earlier debates, said he was confident he had fine tuned his debate style for "brevity and succinctness."

The high stakes were evident in recent days as the campaigns traded accusations of dirty politics and other harsh barbs, including Mrs. Clinton's charge her foe plagiarized in a speech and the Obama campaign's finger-pointing over a photograph that surfaced yesterday of him wearing a turban and Muslim-style robes.

Read the rest here, and here is my Web story on the Dodd endorsement.

Astrid Riecken has this photo gallery up today.

By our count, Obama has nabbed at least 5 superdelegates in the last 36 hours: Dodd, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D.C.'s two shadow senators and the Cincinnati mayor. Mark Halperin is reporting over at the Page that Rep. John Lewis is set to switch from Clinton to Obama soon. (Really this time.)

Finally, Team Clinton sent out this memo about the days ahead:

To: Interested Parties

From: Mark Penn

Phil Singer

Date: February 26, 2008

Subject: Countdown to March 4th Proposed Schedule

In the countdown to March 4th, we have developed a schedule that demonstrates momentum and underscores Hillary's strength and experience on the national security front and in her approach to solving our economic challenges.

This schedule reinforces our larger message: Hillary Clinton is in the solutions business. She will be ready on Day One to solve our urgent problems and stand up for the voiceless. She is ready to be Commander in Chief and to end this war, ready to manage the economy, ready to restore our middle class dream, ready to take on the special interests, and ready to take on John McCain and take back the White House.

Our message complements our organizational strength on the ground in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont, including 41,000 volunteers in Texas and 26,000 volunteers in Ohio.

In addition to President Clinton and Chelsea, we have major surrogates traveling across Ohio and Texas, including Governors Corzine, Strickland, and Spitzer and former Governor Vilsack; former Senator John Glenn; several members of Congress, including Maxine Waters, Diane Watson, Allyson Schwartz, Steve Israel, Anthony Weiner, Sheila Jackson Lee, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, former Congressman Gephardt; several flag officers, including Generals Clark, Watkins and Kennedy, Admiral Stone; Keyshawn Johnson, Lily Tomlin, Mary Steenburgen, and Ted Danson.

Tuesday

Economic message event, Lorain, OH

Debate, OH

Wednesday

Economic Solutions Summit, Zanesville, OH: Hillary will be joined in a discussion with several governors, CEOs, labor leaders, mayors, and Ohioans about the economic challenges facing America and solutions to turn the economy around. She will hear about the real problems people face and the solutions they bring to the table. In the summit, Hillary will offer her economic blueprint including her plans to create jobs, provide universal health care, fix NAFTA, and tackle America's mortgage crisis.

Thursday

Child Poverty — Giving Every Child a Chance, Appalachia, OH: Building on her life's work as an advocate for children and families, Hillary will meet with families hard-hit by the Bush economy and will introduce her plan to address child poverty.

Friday

Veterans Event, TX: Joined by veterans and flag officers, Hillary will discuss her continued commitment to a strong military and serving America's veterans. She will discuss her plan to provide health care and benefits to those who've served, building on her work on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Saturday

GOTV! Texas: Hillary will tour the state of Texas encouraging voters to have their voices heard on Tuesday. She will talk about leveling the playing field by taking on the special interests and strengthening the middle class.

Sunday

Caravan for Clinton: Friends of Hillary's from across the country will join supporters in OH in a caravan across the state.

Monday

Texas-Sized Town Hall, TX: Hillary will host a large town hall broadcast on the Internet and on television in eight markets in Texas. Texans will be invited to call in their questions or send them via Internet.

Tuesday

Vote!

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, who got cover treatment in New York Magazine this week, is campaigning for her mom at Ohio colleges today.

She also sent supporters this volunteer appeal:

My favorite part of working on my mom's campaign is talking to people one-on-one about why they should vote for her. We can use all the help we can get to tell people about why my mom is the leader we all need! There are two great ways for you to help us all win on March 4:

1. We need as many people on the ground in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont as we can get.

If you can travel to any of these states to volunteer March 1-4, you can make a huge difference for my mom's campaign. And take my word for it — there is no more exciting place to be than on the campaign trail right now!

Please click here to sign up to travel to a March 4 state.

2. We need you on the phones, making calls right from your own home.

Earlier this month, I asked our online community to commit to making a million calls. We blew right past that goal, making record numbers of calls into key states. First, congratulations everyone and thank you!! Second, let's keep it going and try to make more than 1.5 million calls this week!

Please click here to make phone calls from your own home on my mom's behalf.

I've been doing everything I can to help, criss-crossing the primary states, talking to thousands of people. And you know my mom is working her heart out. I'm so proud of the way she keeps fighting every day for what she believes in and for the America she knows we can be.

Thanks for doing everything you are doing,

Chelsea

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — Listen here to Sen. Hillary Clinton's new Latino campaign theme song, a Mexican Cumbia diddy that will be played at her rallies in Texas.

"I was thrilled to introduce this innovative and catchy theme song and dedicate it to a true friend of the Latino community — Hillary Clinton," said Johnny Canales, a former Tejano musician, in a campaign statement. "While the rhythm and the lyrics are certainly entertaining, the message is very serious: Hillary is the only candidate who has been there for the Hispanic community in Texas, and she will fight for all of us and our families when she is in the White House."

Campaign aides sent it around earlier. It was written and performed by Walter Suhr and the Mango Punch, a Latin rock band based in Houston.

Here is the English translation:

Hillary, Hillary Clinton (I will vote for her) Dear Friends, I am Johnny Canales, and I want to dedicate this song to our friend, Hillary Clinton ... you got it! Take it away! Here it is!

Hillary, Hillary Clinton

We need a change, we have to improve
And there is only one candidate that can do it
She has the experience, her husband already lead
And with what they did together our people improved

Hillary, Hillary Clinton
(I will vote for her, for her I will vote)
Hillary, Hillary Clinton
(I will vote for her, for her I will vote)

A strong president, she can end the war
And give health care to all the people of this land
Fair immigration laws and a better economy
I don’t have to think twice, for Hillary I will vote

Hillary, Hillary Clinton (for her I will vote)
Hillary, Hillary Clinton (for her I will vote)
For Clinton I will vote

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — We just wandered through the Wolstein Center to find a vending machine and had several adventures along the way.

First, our elevator was waylaid by Chelsea Clinton and her secret service agent. The former first daughter hopped into the car with us. She had a big scarf around her neck but still looked freezing - she'd just come in out of the snow.

She was with a friend who held what appeared to be 4-inch blue stilettos that Clinton might be changing into for her appearance the debate audience.

She was friendly and smiled and said hello to everyone, then apologized: "Sorry I stole your elevator," before leaving.

Then Miller and I snuck behind the debate stage unnoticed but surely breaking the rules. NBC's Tim Russert was there sans jacket and holding a makeup compact as he paced back and forth.

A bagpipe crew regaled the crowd inside the hall with "Amazing Grace."

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND — The e-mail from Sen. Chris Dodd came a few minutes ago as we await the press conference where he formally will endorse Sen. Barack Obama.

Dear Friend,

We have been through a lot in this past year and your friendship and support have meant so much to me. That is why I wanted to let you know of my decision to endorse a Democratic candidate for President — and that I have decided to support Barack Obama.

We all understand how much is at stake in this election and that it is more important than ever that we put a Democrat in the White House.

And while both of our Party's remaining candidates are extremely talented and would make excellent commanders-in-chief, I am throwing my support to the candidate who I believe will open the most eyes to our shared Democratic vision.

I'm deeply proud to be the first 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to endorse Barack Obama. He is ready to be President. And I am ready to support him — to work with him and for him and help elect him our 44th President.

Put simply, I believe Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to help us face this housing crisis, create good jobs, strengthen America's families in this 21st century global economy, unite the world against terrorism and end the war in Iraq — and perhaps most importantly, call the American people to shared service and sacrifice. In this campaign, he has drawn millions of voters into politics for the first time in their lives and shown us that we are united by so much more than that which divides us.

That is why I believe the time has come for Democrats to come together as a Party and focus on winning the general election. The stakes are too high not to.

The last seven years have been as difficult as any I can remember. More than ever, we need a President who will inspire us to take part in the political process and change our country's path.

Today, when we need it most, we are hearing a new call from Barack Obama. And I hope you, like me, will answer it in the affirmative.

Please get involved in Barack Obama's campaign now: http://action.barackobama.com/doddsupporters

Sincerely,
Chris Dodd

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLEVELAND, Ohio — One-time presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd will be endorsing Sen. Barack Obama this morning.

Dodd, who as a Connecticut senator is a superdelegate, ended his bid after placing poorly in the Iowa caucus. He had labeled Obama as inexperienced during the campaign but had plenty of criticism for Sen. Hillary Clinton as well.

Someone gave the news first to the wires, and the two will formally make the announcement this morning in a press conference.

Here's portions of the AP report:

Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut plans to endorse former presidential rival Barack Obama.
Dodd will endorse his colleague, a senator from Illinois, in Cleveland on Tuesday, according to a Democratic official close to Dodd who requested anonymity because no formal announcement had been made.
Dodd's support, coupled with his liberal credentials, could provide a boost for Obama as major contests near in big states such as Ohio and Texas on March 4. Obama has won some key Democratic endorsements in recent weeks, including Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, a close friend of Dodd.
Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had been vying for Dodd's support since he exited the presidential race after a poor showing in the Iowa caucus last month. Dodd, who won his Senate seat in 1980 and chaired the Democratic National Committee from 1995-1996, has long-standing ties to the Clintons.

It's unclear at this point whether the Dodd endorsement will come along with backing from the the International Association of Firefighters, which had worked hard for the senator in Iowa.

In August, Dodd had blasted his rival on nuclear strategy, calling it unwise and adding, "Senator Obama's assertions about foreign and military affairs have been, frankly, confusing and confused."

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

Astrid Riecken photo


CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sen. Barack Obama wandered to the press section of the plane tonight right before we left wherever it was we were.

He chatted briefly with reporters and I asked if he was ready for tomorrow night's debate. He laughed, noting there have been 19 debates so far and that if he wasn't ready by now he was in trouble.

Repeating a line from yesterday's press conference, Obama said he is sure both he and Sen. Hillary Clinton can recite "every one" of their respective arguments against each other by heart.

"It's like Groundhog Day," he said.

I had my computer open posting a BBlog, so I showed him the video of Geneva Clark's wild reaction at the Cincinnati event this afternoon.

He only glanced at it, but surmised jokingly: "It's a cult"

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN DAYTON AND CLEVELAND, Ohio — Earlier today Sen. Barack Obama scooped up an endorsement from Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, a Democratic superdelegate.

"I have decided to give my endorsement to Senator Barack Obama," Mallory said to introduce the senator at his rally, and the crowd at the University of Cincinnati went crazy.

Here's some video:

The woman in the blue shirt and black sweater is Geneva Clark, who told me she sent a letter to the mayor asking him to endorse Obama. She's a volunteer for the campaign and spent most of the rally on her feet, jumping up and down and screaming.

Former Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White also announced yesterday he was switching his support from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Mr. Obama, comparing him to the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr. and closing an editorial for the Plain Dealer: "I'm sure that next Tuesday John, Bobby and Martin will be looking down upon us in Ohio and wondering if hope is still alive. Make them proud ... Yes we can!"

As we just closed out the day's events, I realized in all the bus travel I neglected to post our stories from today's print edition.

This one looks at the organizational ground game the candidates have in Texas and Ohio, and we also have this piece that details the nasty back and forth from Sunday:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton further upped her criticism of Sen. Barack Obama's soaring rhetoric by accusing him yesterday of posing as a secular messiah who will bring about paradise on Earth.

The rhetoric got more biting from the other side too, with the Illinois senator accusing the former first lady of presenting herself as if she were "co-president" from 1993 to 2001 while being disingenuous about taking credit for only some of the Clinton administration's achievements.

At an arena rally at the Rhode Island College Recreation Center, Mrs. Clinton drew big laughs and thunderous applause with an impassioned criticism of Mr. Obama's "misleading" campaign mailings, and she borrowed heavily from religious imagery and language.

"Now I could stand up here and say: Let's get everybody together. Let's get unified. The skies will open. The lights will come down. And you know the celestial choirs will be singing. And everyone we know will do the right thing. And the world will be perfect," Mrs. Clinton said.

"Maybe I've just lived a little too long," she said, adding that those years of experience have left her with "no illusions" about how difficult the next president's job will be. "We are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear."

Mr. Obama pushed back, agreeing during a rally in Toledo, Ohio, that a president cannot wish away special interest power, but he said "it doesn't help" if you are taking millions of dollars from lobbyists as Mrs. Clinton has.

"They definitely won't go away then," he said.

Read the full story here.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times