Sparring Over Gas Tax Continues

"Guilt and worry are in a mother's DNA," she said. "I'm a designated worrier in my family about everything. . . . I still worry all the time. My mother said the other day she worries as much about me now. I tell her to turn off the TV, she wouldn't worry so much."

Indiana has turned into the more contested of the two states. Weeks ago, when the Obama campaign drafted its scenario of the likely outcomes in late primaries, officials predicted a seven-point victory. Now they see a tight finish and are working to reverse the momentum Clinton gained from Wright's remarks.

Obama's campaign has tried to cut down on the big rallies that once symbolized the energy behind his campaign but now are seen as sending the message that the candidate is aloof and above the crowds. Instead, he has scheduled appearances where he can mingle with middle-class Hoosiers, with the hope that when voters see him on television, they will see a candidate connecting directly with working people.

For Obama, Indiana's proximity to Illinois is a significant advantage. His advisers see northwest Indiana as an area of particular strength because so many voters there are familiar with him from watching Chicago television.

But that part of the state also includes many working-class voters who have been a core of Clinton's support, and the senator from New York has made repeated appearances in an effort to cut significantly into Obama's expected margins there.

In other ways, Indiana resembles Ohio and Pennsylvania, with the same older, blue-collar population that gave Clinton important victories in those states. Southern Indiana is a more culturally conservative, and both Hillary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton have stumped through rural areas in an effort to pick up support.

North Carolina remains an Obama state, but as the economy has risen in importance, Clinton has begun to make significant inroads.

Her advisers doubt that she can defeat Obama here, but a close finish, particularly if coupled with a victory in Indiana, would give her underdog candidacy another important boost.

Balz, traveling with Clinton, reported from North Carolina.

Obama Wins Guam

Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in Saturday's Democratic caucuses on Guam by just seven votes, less than 0.2 percent of the total vote.

More than 4,500 Democrats went to the polls, and ballots were counted by hand overnight. Results announced Sunday morning showed that delegates pledged to Obama received 2,264 votes. Clinton's slate got 2,257.

The Western Pacific territory will send four pledged delegates and five superdelegates to the party's national convention.