U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said yesterday that if elected president she would sign a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill, maintain military spending in the Islands, and support federal funding for a Honolulu mass transit project.

Clinton, in a telephone conference call with Hawai'i newspaper reporters, acknowledged that the Hawai'i Democratic caucuses on Tuesday will be a challenge. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, her rival for the nomination, was born here and graduated from Punahou School.

"I know we face an uphill battle in the state, but we plan to run a vigorous and successful campaign," the New York Democrat said during a break from campaigning in Texas.

The Hawai'i caucuses usually go unnoticed nationally, but with the nomination still in doubt, both campaigns see value in the 20 delegates at stake here on Tuesday. Chelsea Clinton, Clinton's daughter, is expected to campaign for her mother in Hawai'i this weekend.

Clinton, like Obama, said she would sign a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill that has been pending in Congress since 2000. The Akaka bill would recognize Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people with the right to self-government and create a process for Hawaiians to potentially have more authority over land and cultural issues. Clinton also said she supported the 1993 resolution signed by her husband, President Bill Clinton, apologizing for the U.S. role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.

"I think it remedies a long history of problems and gives recognition," she said of the bill.

Clinton said she would maintain military spending in the Islands and adequately fund the veterans' healthcare system. "I believe military spending will be maintained because we have to support our national defense priorities," she said.

Clinton said she would back federal spending for a Honolulu mass transit system to help reduce the state's dependence on oil, relieve traffic congestion, and create jobs in construction and other industries. "The federal government should be supportive of initiatives like that," she said. "It's one of the 21st century solutions that I'm promoting in my campaign."

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, who has endorsed Obama, said Democrats are not necessarily looking at issues to separate Obama and Clinton, but rather which candidate would be the most effective for the party against the Republican nominee in November.

"People are looking for a distinction without much of a difference. I don't think issues are an issue with the voting electorate in the Democratic nomination process," the congressman said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. He said "the Democratic base has pretty much decided that it's who they want to be nominated as opposed to any given issue."

ENERGY AND THE ISLES

The Clinton campaign also released a detailed summary yesterday explaining how her national policies on energy independence, education, healthcare, housing, and immigration would benefit people in the Islands.

Local Clinton volunteers said there are no immediate plans for television or radio advertisements, but the Clinton campaign has dispatched staff to the Islands.

Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, indicated in a memo released yesterday that the campaign is looking beyond Hawai'i and Wisconsin — where Democrats also vote on Tuesday — to the March 4 contests in delegate-rich states such as Ohio and Texas. Penn argues that Clinton and Obama will be virtually tied among delegates after March 4 and that the nomination may not tip until after the April 22 vote in Pennsylvania, where Clinton is strong.

Penn contends the demographics in Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania favor Clinton, who has done well among white women and Latino voters in particular.

"Change begins March 4th," Penn wrote.

Penn also argued that the nomination is about delegates, not how many states a candidate has won, a response to Obama's string of victories since Super Tuesday. He said Bill Clinton in 1992, Walter Mondale in 1984 and Jimmy Carter in 1976 had lost several primaries and caucuses before ultimately winning the nomination.

ABERCROMBIE UNSWAYED

Abercrombie said he credits Clinton for withstanding the barrage of attacks from Republicans and other critics but said she remains a polarizing figure who could galvanize Republican voters in November. Obama, on the other hand, has been able to attract young people, independents and others to the party.

"He can grow the vote and Senator Clinton can't. It's not fair, but it's real with regard to Senator Clinton," Abercrombie said. "Her negatives are so intractable. They're so hard-wired, that she simply can't overcome them, because she's been the object of relentless attacks."