Is Hillary drinking at the last chance saloon? Find out on our US Elections blog

Hillary Clinton, who began the race for the Democratic nomination as the seemingly unstoppable choice of the party establishment, is ending it as an outsider railing against the perceived injustices that have taken her to the brink of defeat.

Busloads of her supporters will converge on Washington today for protests outside a meeting of a party rules committee. Bill Clinton has adopted the language of conspiracy theorists as he attacks a “cover-up” by unseen hands intent on wrecking his wife's chances. Aides mutter darkly about media bias, sexism and double standards.

The candidate is unrelenting, telling rallies: “We have not gone through this exciting, unprecedented, historical election only to lose.”

Mrs Clinton highlights polls showing that she is best placed to win the White House and statistics that, by some counts, put her ahead of Mr Obama in the popular vote. Her campaign has invited journalists to stay on the trail with Mrs Clinton next week, even after the final primaries on Tuesday.

However, the Democratic leadership is starting to gather around Barack Obama's standard as he prepares for battle with John McCain in November's general election.

The Senate Majority leader, Harry Reid, the House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean, the party chairman, have sent out clear signals that they expect the race to end in a matter of days.

“We agree there won't be a fight at the convention [in August]. The time has come to make a decision,” Mr Reid said. “By this time next week, it will all be over.”

Mr Obama is said to have up to three dozen super-delegates waiting to announce their support next week, pushing him ever closer to, or even over, the finishing line for the nomination. At least one big name, the House majority whip, James Clyburn, is expected to announce his endorsement on Tuesday morning even as primaries take place in Montana and South Dakota.

Today, on the eve of a primary in Puerto Rico that Mrs Clinton is expected to win, the Democratic rules committee will meet in Washington to consider what to do about her disputed victories in Florida and Michigan.

The committee is expected to reduce the punishment imposed on these states for breaking rules by holding primaries too early. It may allow their delegates, currently banned from the convention, half a vote each. Mrs Clinton wants all 366 delegates to be seated at the convention, which would shave Mr Obama's lead of 200 by around 60.

Although she has 13 pledged supporters on the 30-member committee, her chief delegate-hunter, Harold Ickes, has suggested that he is struggling to hold the line among this group. If the decision goes against her, Mrs Clinton may yet appeal to the credentials committee next month.

Donald Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a Clinton backer who sits on the rules committee, told The Times that there was a desire for compromise. “They would all like to see a settlement that is peaceable,” he said. One committee member pointed out that colleagues “are not going to throw themselves, or the party, under a bus for the selfish wishes of any one candidate”.

Mrs Clinton's supporters still plan to demonstrate against “the disenfranchisement of 2.3 million voters” from Florida and Michigan. Her spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said: “Lots of people very passionate about this topic are coming.”

The party told ticket-holders that “banners, posters, signs, handouts and noisemakers of any kind are strictly prohibited”.

The raw feelings in Mrs Clinton's camp have been exacerbated by comments made from the same pulpit where Mr Obama's pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, generated racially charged controversy in March.

The Reverend Michael Pfleger, a white Catholic priest and supporter of Mr Obama, used a visit to the Illinois Senator's church on Sunday to mock Mrs Clinton's tears as motivated only by self-pity.

“This is mine! I'm Bill's wife, I'm white,” he parodied her as saying, “I'm entitled! There's a black man stealing my show!” Mr Obama, anxious to avoid a second round of pastor problems, swiftly condemned the remarks.

Mr Pfleger apologised yesterday for any offence that he had caused.

Today's meeting of the Democratic Party's rules and bylaws committee will consider a challenge to its decision to strip Florida and Michigan of their 366 delegates for holding presidential primaries ahead of schedule. The party rulebook stipulates a 50 per cent cut in delegates for such violations. But what does this mean? If the party decides to restore all of the delegates with half of the vote, Hillary Clinton would make a net gain of around 30 votes. at the convention. If it decides to seat only half of the delegates, each with a full vote, Mrs Clinton would gain only around 10 delegates because of the way each district selects them. Unfortunately for her, even if all 366 delegates had their votes back, it would not change the remorseless mathematics pointing to Barack Obama as the nominee.

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