SOUTH BEND — With less than two days to go before Indiana's primary, Sen. Hillary Clinton stopped in South Bend to deliver a rally cry to her supporters, asking them to help her make every last vote count.

It was Clinton's fifth campaign stop in St. Joseph County, and the 95th campaign stop in the Hoosier state by a member of her family. This time, the setting was her campaign headquarters in South Bend, where she delivered a 20-minute speech on her campaign platform. It touched on a wide variety of issues, from health care and education to the economy and the war in Iraq.

But the big message of this stop was one of thanks to her supporters, and she didn't waste any time issuing a challenge to them.

"It has been a real grassroots effort," said Clinton, who took the stage in front of her campaign headquarters at about 4:20 p.m. "And I am so grateful to all of you. I hope that you will do everything you can in the next two days to reach as many voters as possible. Because the stakes are high. The consequences are great."

Martha Lewis, a self described "long time Hillary supporter," heard it all loud and clear.

When she opened up the Howard Park General Store next door to the Clinton campaign office Sunday morning, she knew it wouldn't be an ordinary day.

But she didn't think it would be quite what it turned into.

"I just thought she was going to come visit the volunteers," she said. "I didn't think they'd be closing down streets, and they'd be outside."

But, when reporters from the TV show Entertainment Tonight showed up and asked to use her store to tape an interview with Clinton, it suddenly sank in.

"It was very surreal," Lewis said. "Just amazing. I just sat there kind of in awe."

And when she went outside and watched Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh introduce Clinton as "the next President of the United States,"
she said the message was suddenly clear.

And while many at the rally agreed that "change" is overdue, some still weren't totally convinced.

"I'm still trying to make up my mind who to vote for," said John Phair of South Bend, as he bought a "Hillary 2008" T-shirt for his friend. "But I liked what she said. Yeah, I did."

But the majority in the crowd of about 200 took Clinton's charge to heart, and lined up to sign up to stump, making phone calls to potential voters or picking up packets telling them how to go door to door and talk to voters.

Cheryl Walker has been walking door to door in South Bend the last few weekends, stumping for Hillary.

She says she's seen it all.

"You meet lots of interesting people," she said. "Everybody has their own opinion, and you never know what's going to happen next. But there are a lot of undecided people."

When asked if she thinks her canvassing is helping people decide, she replied, "I do!"

"I feel like I should be helping her," agreed Lisa Blodgett, also of South Bend. "I want to get the word out that just because she's a woman, it doesn't mean she can't deliver what she's saying she will."

Her other motivating factor?

"It's history," she said. "This is a part of history."

As for just how devoted that support is? Well, it became clear when Clinton had to stop her speech because of a nagging cough.

"I've had a lot of speeches," she said with a smile. "A glass of water?" she asked her campaign staff.

Then, after a short pause:

"See? That's why we need universal health care!" she said, evoking wild applause from the crowd, and chants of "Hillary, Hillary."

It's a scene that's been repeated across the area over the last few weeks, as the eyes of the nation focus on Hoosiers. And over the weekend, the national media spotlight has shined brightly on Michiana.

The latest "surprise" moment came when Clinton's motorcade stopped at a Dairy Queen restaurant on South Bend Avenue to talk with voters and grab a quick snack for her trip to Indianapolis Sunday night.

It was also a chance to see her traveling press corps in action. Climbing down from two massive coach buses, they consumed the parking lot of the ice cream shop. Cameras clicked as boom microphones towered over the crowd.

It, too, is becoming a familiar scene across the area.

From CBS to CNN, national reporters and correspondents have broadcast live from South Bend, Elkhart, Michigan City, and Warsaw, among others, focusing on Sen. Clinton, former President Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama and dozens of supporters from both sides. They've also beamed the thoughts of voters from across the area, across the country and around the world.

It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for local Democrats to be a part of history. But it's also a historic moment for those in front of and behind the cameras and lights.

CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Jim Axelrod has followed both campaigns across the nation since November, and says, there's no doubt, it makes for a hard day's work.

"You're just completely consumed by the process," he told WSBT following Sen. Clinton's South Bend speech. "Between Thanksgiving and now, I think I've been home maybe 2 or 3 weeks total? I'm not complaining though. This comes along once every four years. But a race like this? That's one every generation, or maybe 2 or 3 generations."

And Axelrod says covering it makes him a better journalist.

"You get reacquainted and back in touch with the real excitement of a presidential campaign," he said. "My other job is at the White House, and you sort of get involved in the policy and you forget the energy that's involved here and the engagement people feel."

"So, to be out here and to watch all of that is just terrific," he continued. "You feel like you're watching history unfold. To have a front row seat like that, sometimes I feel I would pay them to see that."

Axelrod has also gotten the unique opportunity to talk to voters across the country, and across the state.

"What you get from them is a sense of what sticks and what doesn't. There's a sense of being engaged and invigorated in a way they haven't in a generation or more."

As for his primary predictions?

Well, he says Indiana is still a toss up, and if he had the answer, he'd probably have another job!

One thing is clear though, to both those covering the race and those in the thick of it. As the clock continues to tick, every vote will count.

"I think this will be a really close one," said Steve Schnitzer, of Skokie, Ill., a northern suburb of Chicago. He and his wife have followed Clinton for the last two months, inspired by her message.

"Every vote counts, and hopefully Indiana gives her the chance to get in," he said.

And the Clintons are working to try and get every last vote.

Chelsea Clinton will be back in the area Monday at a Cinco de Mayo event in Goshen. From there she will travel to South Bend to talk with students at Saint Mary's College.