by Rick Pearson

INDIANAPOLIS -- On the eve of primaries Tuesday in Indiana and North Carolina, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign said it believes its focused populist-themed message may be paying dividends.

"We've made a very focused case in both states. We believe that we've got things moving in the right direction in both states," said Clinton strategist Geoff Garin.

Contending that Obama had healthy leads in both states only a few weeks ago, Garin said the outcome on Tuesday will be "that we'll get this race certainly in Sen. Clinton's direction."

Clinton herself, starting the day in Greenville, N.C., pitched herself as a problem solver for the middle class, with polls showing her drawing increasing support from white blue-collar crowds. Buttressing the effort, Clinton also has sent out a mailing criticizing Obama's stance on gun control despite her support for gun control.

"Who are you going to hire to tackle all these tough problems for you?" Clinton asked.

"Somebody who understands what you're going through, cares about it, gets it, and will stand up there every day and fight for you?" she asked. "The wealthy and the well connected have had their president. It's time that the rest of America, the hard working middle class families had a president on their side again. I believe that I have what it takes to be on your side because that's what I think the next president should do."

Clinton also has been echoing one of her early campaign criticisms of rival Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, contending he is a candidate more rhetoric than reality.

"At the end of the day, you don't hire a president to make speeches. You hire a president to solve problems and take care of you and your family," she said.

The Clinton campaign also is raising questions about a story in the Wall Street Journal in which Obama's campaign acknowledged he favored lifting a 1989 federal consent decree over the operations of the Teamsters Union as a result of corruption allegations. The Teamsters subsequently endorsed Obama. But when asked about it on ABC's Good Morning America, Obama said he would not make any "blanket commitments."

Clinton's campaign said she never made any promises about lifting the decree, but said "she does have concerns about the length of time the Teamsters have been under the consent decree. There's nothing wrong with that."

With the race all but certain to continue beyond Tuesday's balloting, the status of nominating delegations from Florida and Michigan still in doubt and Clinton trailing in terms of elected delegates and popular votes, her campaign tried to explain that it really doesn't know what the end game will be.

"I think anyone who can tell you that they know accurately how this process will play out between now and the convention is likely to get it wrong," said Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson. "We have seen consistently that there've been twists and turns in the road in this nominating process that have been unanticipated. We have several more important contests again to come between now and June 3rd.

"I think the only thing we can predict with any accuracy is that we don't know exactly how this nominating process is going to play out precisely between now and the conventions," he said.