Ain't no stopping themselves now

INDIANAPOLIS -- For the second time in three nights, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spoke back-to-back at party dinners in red states Democrats dream about turning blue and respected their party boss's appeal to leave little permanent damage.

"The only thing that can stop us from winning the presidency is ourselves," Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean cautioned the Indiana Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner Sunday night.

Clinton heralded the Democrats' recent success in Indiana, saying that in the past the party 'could have had a dinner in a much smaller place than" the massive convention hall where they gathered this year. Although she hoarsely called herself "no shrinking violet," she held back from voicing the fierce critiques of Obama that have filled her recent stump speeches and offered localized sports metaphors to invigorate her listeners instead.

"Are you ready to start your engines and get America back on track?" she asked the crowd, although she not pick a driver in this year's Indy 500 -- as she did in Louisville when she encouraged supporters to "bet on the filly" before the Kentucky Derby.

The feistiest speech came from Dean, who attacked McCain as offering a "third Bush term" and casually invoked the Keating Five scandal in which McCain was embroiled two decades ago -- a subject rarely raised by Democrats or by his Republican primary opponents since.

Both candidates offered praise for Dean, who is neutral in the race but could play a crucial role in settling their deadlock among elected delegates. "I know we're giving him a little bit of stress, but he is handling it with his usual bit of grace," Obama said.