Once upon a time, Hillary Clinton was regarded as the inevitable Democratic nominee. Now, however, even Democrats in Clinton’s adopted home state are worried, and are traveling to Iowa and New Hampshire in a desperate attempt to shore up her campaign against the surge of Barack Obama.

This morning, Stuart Brody, chair of the New York State Democratic Rural Conference, sent out a message to other members of the New York State Democratic Committee representing rural counties, admitting that the race in Iowa is now “described as a dead heat… our voice can be especially helpful in Iowa, and then, five days later in New Hampshire”.

Rallying the home turf troops to go campaign in other states is not the act of an inevitable campaign. It’s the act of a campaign that once took its victory for granted, and now is struggling to retain the turf it once felt entitled to.