PROVIDENCE — U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says her presidential campaign’s fundraising has improved since Super Tuesday, though she concedes that she will probably be outspent by her primary opponent, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

In his 17-point win Feb. 19 in Wisconsin, Obama outspent Clinton on TV ads by nearly 5 to 1. In Rhode Island, the ratio now is more than 3 to 1.

“We were pretty even during 2007, both in contributions and expenditures,” Clinton said in a Journal interview yesterday. “But he got a big burst of fundraising in January, and it has continued unabated. And right before Super Tuesday, he was outspending me dramatically in all of the states.”

Clinton added $5 million from her own pocket to help finance her campaign before Super Tuesday. “Once people found out I put my own money in, they have been responding so generously,” she said. “We are raising, on average, a million dollars a day since Super Tuesday. That gives me the resources to compete, but not to match.”

But she may not need to match Obama dollar for dollar, she said. “Different states have different needs when it comes to media. I feel comfortable with where we are.”

The New York senator’s former Senate colleague, Rhode Island’s Lincoln D. Chafee, is highly critical of Clinton and other members of Congress who voted in 2002 for the resolution that gave President Bush the authority to attack Iraq. Chafee, who supports Obama, has suggested in his coming book that a vote for the resolution should be a career-ending lapse in judgment.

So why is Chafee wrong?

“I’m not going to contradict his personal opinion,” Clinton said. “That’s certainly his to hold. But I think there’s a lot of revisionist history going on here. At the time, it was very clear that we were hoping to rein in Saddam Hussein and determine what, if any, remaining weapons of mass destruction he had. Because the facts are, he had them when we went in after the first Gulf war.”

Clinton said she supported the threat of force to compel Saddam to accept inspections, and blames President Bush for abusing the authority extended by the resolution. “It was a sincere vote by me at the time, and if I had known what he would do with the vote, I would not have voted for it.”

Clinton, who at one time seemed the inevitable nominee, is now running from behind. What must the second-place candidate do this summer to unify the Democratic Party behind the winner?

“I intend to be part of a unified Democratic Party, as the nominee. Because I know we have to win in November. But whoever finishes second will have the same sense of responsibility. Both Barack and I know what’s at stake. We’ve got to take the White House back. …

“Maybe because of the intensity of this race and the historic nature of it, people are forgetting that my husband did not get the nomination until June [in 1992]. … It was often the case that the primary race went into the convention. I don’t think it will happen, but there is a context to put this into. People are passionate about their candidates, as they should be. But once we have a nominee, we’re going to be united.”

Even if it’s not you?

“We’re going to win,” she said. “We’re going to be a united party behind our nominee.”

marsenau@projo.com