Howard Wolfson is arguing that Hillary Clinton "would be the stronger nominee against John McCain" because she had proven an ability to attract blue-collar Democrats and win swing states. "Senator Obama, on the other hand, has not yet proven that he can win key swing states, has not proven that he can win blue-collar voters," Wolfson said. He called that "the crux of the argument" the campaign would make going forward.

When asked in a question-and-answer period whether media declarations of Clinton's electoral demise would hurt their effort to court superdelegates, Wolfson said, "Obviously superdelegates watch TV and read the newspapers," but they are more influenced by electoral results.

He confirmed that the campaign gave more than $6 million in loans to the campaign in April and May, which he described as a demonstration of the candidate's commitment.

In contrast to the boasting about online fund-raising that followed her Pennsylvania victory, Wolfson said he did not know how much money had come in since last night's results became clear.

He also confirmed a meeting with uncommitted superdelegates on the Hill this afternoon.

UPDATE: Wolfson bristled when asked whether the total of $11.4 million that Clinton had loaned her campaign over the course of the election exceeded her profits from book sales and her Senate salary, and whether that meant she was dipping into money contributed by Bill Clinton to their joint account.

"There is no distinction between her share of their joint assets and her money," he said, arguing that she "legally is entitled to use up to 50 percent of their jointly held assets for her campaign."

The campaign has taken pains to keep Bill Clinton's income from becoming an issue in the race.