THE bell tolled for John Lennon one awful night outside the Dakota co-op building in New York on December 8, 1980 when Mark Chapman shot him dead. Twenty-eight years later, on a brisk Wednesday morning last week, Senator Hillary Clinton arrived at the Dakota on Central Park West and 72nd Street with her political future on life support.

She had come to New York's fanciest address for two desperately needed fundraisers back to back to keep her campaign breathing through the critical March 4 primaries in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island.

Inside the Dakota in a sprawling second floor apartment out of Bonfire of the Vanities, Clinton held court for the hardest of the hard core, several Irish among them, determined to fight for the last vote.

While there is much talk about Obama mania, there is no doubt that the hard core Hillaryites would follow her to the gates of hell. There are deep grievances about the lack of balanced media coverage and the free ride that many feel Senator Barack Obama has enjoyed.

Indeed, it took Saturday Night Live last weekend to finally finger the media bias with an hilarious skit of the recent debate in Texas, showing all the journalists panting for Obama's approval.

The crowd at the Dakota had not given up on another of the Clintons' patented comebacks. They know it is fourth and long and it may take a Hail Mary pass to get back in the race, but the Clintons are the one team that might pull it off

Declan Kelly, the Tipperary-born businessman, introduced Hillary to the 100-plus crowd munching on canaps and sipping sparkling bottled water. He talked about her inspirational qualities and how she never ran from a fight.

Also there were others of her Irish support base, hotelier John Fitzpatrick, restaurant owner Ciaran Staunton and businessman Paul Keary, who have put together a powerful fundraising machine for Hillary among the Irish community.

The candidate herself looked like she'd just been through a tough week. Desperately tired, suffering from a cold, she nonetheless rallied as the warmth in the room washed over her.

Like all good politicians, she draws strength from a crowd. You see it in the way her head snaps up. She fixes her stare on her audience and finds the appropriate words.

We had an opportunity for a quick word with her, during which we pushed the idea of kick starting an immigration reform bill during her first 100 days if she is elected. We were delighted when she made it part of her debate performance the following night.

Clinton reminded her backers that she was just 2% behind in the delegate count and that it was all still to play for.

But even Hillary may not be able to win this one. Obama has won 11 primaries or caucuses in a row by an average margin of over 20 points. She needs an escape even Houdini would not have dreamed of.

Her early lead in Ohio is holding according to latest polls which show her up by eight and 11 points respectively. Texas is tighter than a tick, with most polls showing a virtual dead heat. She knows she needs to win both.

The promise of autumn and early winter when Clinton led the Democratic race by 30 points is now a cold memory. The infighting among her staff got worse last week when it was revealed that the company of chief strategist Mark Penn had been paid $10 million to date for his efforts. His major accomplishment has been to turn Clinton's positives into negatives, and her clear lead into a nearly insurmountable deficit.

Howard Wolfson, her chief media strategist, has been earning $275,000 a month for sending out so many mixed messages that no one knows what is coming next.

Her excellent debate performance in Texas on Thursday night was a clear indication of how much political talent Clinton has. Obama certainly has that too, but the sense that he is still deeply unknown apart from the hype should give Democrats pause.

Her closing remarks in the debate revealed the true Hillary. "Everyone here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life," she said, a clear reference to Monica, that blue dress and impeachment.

But, she said, nothing she had gone through matched the everyday struggles of voters she meets on the campaign trail.

It is not easy for Clinton to bare her soul. At heart she's a typical Midwestern Protestant woman with sensible shoes who is not given to displays of emotion.

Perhaps it will turn out that she could not have beaten Obama anyway, the once in a generation candidate, straight from the West Wing by way of John F. Kennedy.

Perhaps even the greatest backroom team on earth could not have helped her defeat a candidate who seems more like a force of nature, a young gun with perfect pitch, Hollywood looks and keen intellect.

But if anyone can still do it yes she can, to steal from the Obama vernacular. There is another few days to go, a lifetime in politics, as Senator John McCain will readily attest to after the week he had.

If Clinton is to somehow pull out big victories in Ohio and Texas it would be game on again. Hillary will be ready if it is.