'Invincible' no more, Clinton vows 'mad dash' to votes

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AFP) — Her aura of inevitability dimmed, Hillary Clinton's once pitch-perfect White House campaign is in a battle of attrition against peaking rival Barack Obama.

Beset by sliding poll numbers and claims she is stooping to dirty politics just 19 days before Iowa holds first party nominating contests, the Clinton machine faces a battle for a party ticket it once seemed to have sewn up.

After months in the lead, Clinton is being forced to deny warnings by pundits that her campaign is in trouble.

"If I had listened to ... the Washington chattering class, I would not be standing here would I?" Clinton told reporters Friday.

"I believe in trusting my own instincts. I feel very, very good about the case that I am making."

Clinton rejects the notion she was ever the "inevitable" nominee, despite the characterization featuring in almost every media analysis of her campaign until early November.

"I always said this would get close. That's ... // 73% Remaining