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Clinton, Obama knuckle down
06/02/2008 23:04 - (SA)
Washington - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama dug in Wednesday for an extended battle for the Democratic presidential nomination after splitting wins in the biggest primary day in US history.
Meanwhile Republican John McCain cemented his front-runner status after a slew of big victories.
Clinton won in eight key Super Tuesday races, including the most valuable, California and New York. She also maintains a lead in the all-important tally of delegates.
But Obama is close behind with wins in at least 13 of the 22 states that held Democratic contests, and has fresh momentum as the race moves into territory where he would seem to have an edge.
A formidable opponent
Either Democrat will likely face a formidable opponent in John McCain, whose cross-country victories on Tuesday seem to guarantee he will be the Republican candidate in the November presidential election.
McCain's independent streak has won him support across party lines and, more than most Republicans, allows him to distance himself from the unpopular presidency of George W. Bush.
Boosted by his big night, McCain asked his loudest conservative critics on Wednesday to "calm down" and support his candidacy - a gesture aimed at bringing on board key Republican voters wary of his maverick stands on issues ranging from immigration to tax cuts.
In the competition for delegates, the Arizona senator had 703 delegates so far, more than half the 1 191 needed for the nomination - and far ahead of his rivals.
Clinton's slight edge
In the Democratic race, Clinton had a total of 1 000 delegates, to 902 for Obama, out of the 2 025 needed to secure victory at the party convention in August. Clinton's advantage is partly due to her lead among so-called super-delegates, members of Congress and other party leaders who are not selected in primaries and caucuses - and who are also free to change their minds.
Both Obama and Clinton were looking ahead to autumn, campaigning as the Democrat tough enough to withstand Republicans attacks, and Obama pointedly argued on Wednesday that he has been tested by the hard-driving Clinton campaign.
"The Clinton research operation is about as good as anybody's out there," he told a news conference. "I assure you that having engaged in a contest against them for the last year, that they've pulled out all the stops. ... We can take a punch. We're still standing."
All about the money
Obama is in a good financial position for upcoming contests. Officials with both campaigns have said Obama raised $32m in January while Clinton raised $13.5m, a significant gap between the two that allowed Obama to place ads in virtually every Super Tuesday state and to get a head start on advertising in primaries and caucuses over the next week.
In a teleconference with reporters, Clinton chief strategist Mark Penn said Clinton was having a "record day" raising money over the internet on Wednesday.
"We will have funds to compete," he said, "but we're likely to be outspent again."
On Saturday, Louisiana and Washington State hold two-party contests while Nebraska Democrats and Kansas Republicans make their picks. Then comes a larger series of two-party primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia on Tuesday.
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