Hillary Clinton bets that Ohio and Texas will be the firewall that salvages her presidential hopes from immolation.

From The Wall Street Journal:

The Buckeye and Lone Star states favor Sen. Clinton. Notably, Texas Democrats include many Hispanics, while working-class voters dominate in Ohio -- the two groups that have been among the most supportive of Sen. Clinton in recent contests.

Yet each state offers opportunities for her rival, and both primaries are open to independent voters and even Republicans, who have supported Sen. Obama elsewhere. He arrives with momentum from his string of wins, all by wide margins, and more money for the airwave wars that began this week. In nearly every state that has voted to date, Sen. Clinton has led by double digits weeks before, only to see her leads melt by primary or caucus day.

If Sen. Clinton doesn't win both states, she will be widely perceived to have lost, no matter that neither candidate yet has the needed 2,025 delegates.

Sen. Clinton was in Ohio yesterday with two big assets: popular Democratic governor Ted Strickland and former senator and pioneer astronaut John Glenn. Two polls yesterday showed her leading Sen. Obama here by double-digit margins, but even Clinton supporters say they expect the race to tighten.