5 things Hillary needs to do

According to experts and Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton8217;s advisers, here8217;s what she needs to do to keep alive her chances of winning:

8226; Recapture 8220;Hillary voters,8221; starting in Wisconsin. Twenty-point-plus losses are never easy to swallow, but the data underlying Clinton8217;s big defeats on Tuesday had Clinton8217;s brain trust in a near panic. The February 19 Wisconsin primary, which the Clinton campaign has downplayed, will provide her with a chance to regain her footing with blue-collar whites and women in Milwaukee and its suburbs.

8226; Win Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. If Barack Obama wins even one, Clinton8217;s primary-night speech could be her farewell address. Citing internal polling, Clinton8217;s people believe she has a very strong advantage in Texas, where she will bank on Hispanic voters who propelled her to wins in California, Nevada and Arizona. She8217;s also strong in Pennsylvania. Ohio is another matter.

8226; Keep superdelegates on board. Back in the days when Hillary Clinton8217;s nomination seemed inevitable, dozens of Democratic party leaders flocked to her banner, signing on as 8220;superdelegates8221; free to vote as they choose, unlike 8220;pledged delegates8221; allocated in primaries and caucuses. Consequently, Clinton leads Obama among supers by a 242-156 margin. But with every Obama win, the temptation to defect grows. If Obama wins more contests, that pressure will grow.

8226; Go negative, but carefully. Clinton8217;s top advisers predicted she would release hard-hitting negative ads on the eve of the January 8 New Hampshire primary. But it never happened because Clinton was afraid the tactic would reinforce her image as a nasty campaigner. But that may be changing, with the airing of a Clinton ad in Wisconsin this week that attacks Obama for ducking a debate in the state.

8226; Sweat the small states. After reportedly spending more than 20 million to finish third in Iowa, Clinton was either unable, or disinclined, to pay for modest ground operations to keep competitive in small states like Nebraska, Alaska, North Dakota and Idaho. She even ceded parts of Obama-friendly states like Illinois 8212; where she might have poached a few delegates. To remedy that, Clinton on Wednesday announced plans to open offices in Wyoming, Montana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Puerto Rico.