WASHINGTON, Mar 5:–Hillary Rodham Clinton scored comeback primary wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island, reviving her White House hopes and denting Barack Obama’s delegate lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, reports AP.
John McCain, an unflinching supporter of the war in Iraq, clinched the Republican nomination. Clinton’s three triumphs on Tuesday ended a month of defeats for the former first lady, and she told jubilant supporters in Columbus, Ohio, “We’re going on, we’re going strong and we’re going all the way” Obama won the Vermont primary, and sought to counter Clinton’s claims that the night had been a campaign-altering event. “We have nearly the same delegate lead as we did this morning and we are on our way to winning this nomination,” he told sup-, porters in San Antonio, Texas.
The onus had been on Clinton to break through after a string of setbacks left her fighting to keep her hopes alive of becoming the first female US president. Obama had won 11 straight contests going into Tuesday. ,
Clinton’s supporters, including her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had said she had to win in both Texas and Ohio - both big states - to sustain her candidacy. Her share of the Ohio vote was 55 percent in nearly complete returns, and the New York senator was winning nearly 51 percent in Texas. She won Rhode Island with more than 58 percent of the vote. Obama was gaining roughly 60 percent of the Vermont vote.
- a Senate colleague - to congratulate him on his triumph in the Republican race. McCain, 71, had been viewed as the presume-’ five nominee for weeks.He went over the top in the Associated Press’ delegate count based on his performance in Tuesday’s primaries as well as a late show of support from Repub.- lican National Committee members who are delegates to the party convention in August.’President George W. Bush, a fellow Republican, invited him to the White House for a “show of support on Wednesday. McCain” has had difficulty winning the support of the Republican Party’s conservative base, but his appeal to independent voters could - make a tough rival for either Obama or Clinton in the November election.“The most important race begins,” McCain said in an Associated Press interview, looking toward a campaign against either Obama or Clinton with the United States fighting an unpopular war in Iraq and possibly on the brink of economic recession.In Tuesday’s four-state competition for delegates, Clinton picked up at least 100, to at least 77 for Obama. Nearly 200 more remained to be allocated for the night, 163 of them in the Texas primary and in caucuses that followed the Texas vote.Overall, Obama had 1,466 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as super delegates, according to the Associated Press count. He picked up three super delegate endorsements Tuesday.Clinton had 1,376 delegates. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination at the party’s national convention in Denver. Clinton and Obama spent most of the past two weeks in Ohio and Texas in a costly, bruising campaign, with Clinton questioning his sincerity in opposing NAFTA, an unpopular free-trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, and questioning his readiness to serve as commander in chief.Polling place interviews with voters found the economy was the No. I problem on the minds of Democratic voters in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. In Vermont, almost as many voters said the war in Iraq was their top concern.Hispanics, a group that has favored Clinton in earlier primaries, cast nearly one-third of the votes in Texas. Blacks, who have voted heavily for Obarna this year, accounted for roughly 20 percent of the votes cast.Once considered the inevitable Democratic nominee, Clinton has struggled to counter Obama’s message of ‘hope and change. Obama, seeking to become the first black president, has inspired huge electoral turnouts and amassed record-breaking financial contributions.Even before polls closed, Obama said he expected the contests would critique through Wyoming and Mississippi over the next week and through Pennsyl- vania the biggest single prize left,“Ali those states coming up are going” to make a difference,” he said. But Clinton’s task remains difficult. Democratic Party rules virtually assure losers a significant share of delegates,, making it hard for Clinton to overtake Obama. Slightly more than 600 delegates remain to be picked in the 10 states that vote after Tuesday. .1 The Democratic marathon was in contrast to a -Republican race that was fierce while it lasted, but long since settled. McCain entered the night with an overwhelming lead over his sole major remaining rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who had 257 delegates.Shortly after AP called the race, Huckabee withdrew from the race.This is McCain’s second run at the nomination, after his loss to George W. Bush in 2000. Once the front-runner, his campaign nearly imploded last year. But he regrouped, reassuming the underdog role that he relishes, and methodically dispatched one rival after another in a string of primaries in January and early February.
Popularity: 8% [?]
At the Kennedy School of Government today said Alex Castellanos, for his notorious dirt campaigns Republican campaign manager. His “Study Group”, which is still up after the election will meet every week, is completely overrun. Castellanos is a witty, charismatic man to fifty. At the beginning is a bowl with Süßkram around, from students to use. “I am a conservative Republican, I prefer to say the same, and from this perspective, I speak here,” sends Castellanos anticipated. He asks: Who will be here this year for the first time to choose? A majority. 
