A number of recent polls show Sen. Hillary Clinton leading significantly in Ohio, which holds its critical Democratic primary March 4.

Yet if this fluid, fast-moving Democratic race has taught us anything, it’s that polling data rarely teaches us anything.

That said, the Wall Street Journal offers some insight into what’s really happening in this battleground state - one shaping up as a must-win for Hillary Clinton if she hopes to halt Sen. Barack Obama’s surge.

The former First Lady is trying to utilize two big assets: popular Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and former senator and astronaut John Glenn.

Hillary has an edge, according to Strickland, with her emphasis on health care, education and relief from housing foreclosures. These issues up her appeal to working-class Democrats, of which Ohio has a huge number.

The governor also cites Hillary Clinton’s support from Ohio unions and most key party figures, and the fact that Ohioans aren’t swayed by “hype.”

As evidenced in the Potomac primaries, Obama has won convincingly among the most educated, affluent Democrats, as well as African-Americans.

Many observers feel that, as with the Texas primary, Ohio demographics don’t lend themselves to the kind of Obama routs we’ve seen of late.

But don’t count him out, says Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman.

The Obama campaign’s grass-roots movement, vast financial resources and recent momentum count for a lot, says this supporter, who predicts a victory for Obama despite the Illinois senator’s underdog status.

Continue reading in the Wall Street Journal …