Exhausted White House hopefuls launched one last frenzied day of campaigning before the 24-state Super Tuesday — the biggest one-day White House nominating contest in history.
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are fighting neck-and-neck in the Democratic showdown, while John McCain looked set to take a firm grip on the Republican Party’s nomination contest.
A CNN/Opinion Research poll out Monday had Clinton narrowly leading Obama 49% to 46%, within a 4,5% margin of error.
The same poll had McCain far ahead, 44% against 29 % for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee trailing on 18%.
”We want somebody with a few battle scars, who’s been tested, who’s ready to go the distance against whatever the Republicans decide to do,” former first lady Clinton told cheering supporters at a rally in Minnesota on Sunday.
”They’ve been after me for 16 years and, much to their dismay, I am still here,” declared Clinton, who is seeking to become America’s first woman president.
Obama argued that Clinton’s reputation meant he was a better candidate to take on the Republicans.
”I don’t think there’s any doubt that the Republicans consider her a polarising figure,” he said on CBS television.
Later the Illinois senator fired up a 20 000 crowd in the eastern state of Delaware and parried Clinton’s latest attacks.
Super Tuesday states account for more than half the delegates at party conventions in August and September, which formally appoint nominees for the presidential election in November.
There are 22 Democratic contests and 21 on the Republican side, with 19 states hosting nominating clashes for both parties.
While McCain is tipped to pull out a possibly decisive lead, the Democratic Party’s system of proportionally allocating delegates, means the Clinton-Obama race could drag on until at least March.
McCain, on the verge of one of the great political comebacks after his campaign almost fell apart last year, was confident of sealing victory against Romney.
”We’re very proud of the progress we’ve made and we think we’ll be able to finish this thing up by Tuesday,” the Nevada senator and Vietnam War hero declared in Boston.
”I will keep America safe. I will cut taxes. I will make sure we reduce excess spending.”
Clinton and Obama were to campaign in closely contested north-eastern states Connecticut and Massachusetts on Monday.
Clinton also planned to hold a unique live question-and-answer meeting with link-ups to every state in Tuesday’s contest, which was to be broadcast live on the internet and the Hallmark television channel.
In a rare break from the frenetic campaign, candidates joined tens of millions of Americans watching the New York Giants come from behind to beat the New England Patriots in the Superbowl championship game.
Clinton was jubilant, when her home team won, and immediately looked for good omens from its 17-14 victory.
”What an incredible ending,” the New York senator said in a bar in St Paul, Minnesota.
”Superbowl, Super Tuesday … we’ve got one down, let’s get the other one!” she said as she jumped in the air and high-fived a group of children.
A national Washington Post-ABC News poll out on Sunday had Clinton leading Obama 47% to 43%, and ahead by small margins in most key states.
In delegate-rich California, Obama and Clinton were locked in a pitched battle with an average by Real Clear Politics showing her up just one point.
Maria Shriver, wife of California’s Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and niece of assassinated President John F Kennedy, became the latest member of her extended clan to back Obama.
”The more I thought about it, I thought, you know, if Barack Obama was a state, he’d be California,” Shriver said at a rally, which also included talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and Obama’s wife, Michelle.
”I mean, think about it: diverse, open, smart, independent, bucks tradition, innovative, inspiring, dreamer, leader,” said Shriver.
The Washington Post-ABC poll gave McCain a commanding lead — 48% to 24% over Romney, with Huckabee and Ron Paul far behind.
If McCain gets the Republican nomination, the November 4 presidential election will be between sitting US senators.
Only two people have gone from the US Senate to the White House: Republican Warren Harding (1921 to 1923), and Kennedy (1960 to 1963). — AFP
