NEW YORK - On the eve of high-stakes primaries in Texas and Ohio, Hillary Clinton appeared via satellite on the popular satirical news program "The Saily Show with Jon Stewart" and challenged the host to come out from behind his fake anchor desk and join her on the campaign trail.

"I wish you were out here on the campaign trail with us. You know, you could make fun of us in person," the Democratic presidential candidate said from a campaign rally in Austin, Texas.

"I really prefer this," Stewart dead-panned from his studio in New York.

When Stewart asked the New York senator and former first lady, why, on the night before what is arguably the most important election of her life, she chose to talk to him, she joked in response, "It is pretty pathetic."

Clinton is running neck-and-neck with Democratic rival Sen.Barack Obama ahead of key primaries in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday. The contests are seen as do-or-die for Clinton, who would be the country’s first female president.

Clinton said she was excited about the primaries on Tuesday, but she was also looking ahead to states that have not yet had their nominating contests.

"There's a lot of interest in letting people who are still to come have their voice, since it is so close," Clinton said, citing the April primary in Pennsylvania. She added that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, did not secure the Democratic Party nomination until June.

Clinton's appearance on "The Daily Show" follows her cameo on comedy show "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend. The appearance on Monday was Clinton's second on :The Daily Show," but her first since she announced she was running for president.

By Emily Chasan, Reuters, March 3, 2008