Democratic rivals Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton squared off Tuesday in primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, home to the White House, their long-sought prize
With 175 delegates at stake, Obama hoped to erode if not erase the lead Clinton has held since the campaign began.
The Illinois senator won a string of contests in all regions of the country over the weekend, routing Clinton in a Louisiana primary as well as caucuses in Nebraska, Washington state and Maine.
Early turnout in Virginia was reported high and city officials in the District of Columbia were hoping that a swath of new registered voters would show up at the polls. Maryland election officials were also projecting a strong turnout, particularly in the Democratic race.
The final Maine returns had not been tallied when Clinton's campaign manager announced she was stepping down. Coming several days after the former first lady loaned her own campaign $5 million, it was a fresh indication of the trouble the one-time front-runner is having fighting off Obama's strong challenge for the nomination.
Aides to the former first lady concede she is in the midst of a difficult period in which she could lose 10 straight contests. She is hoping to rebound on March 4, in primaries in Ohio and Texas, states where both candidates have already begun television advertising.
Clinton began the night with 1,147 delegates, to 1,124 for Obama. Both are far from the 2,025 needed to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
Among Republicans, Sen. John McCain, the faraway front-runner, hoped to rebound in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia from a poor weekend showing. There were 116 GOP delegates at stake.
McCain lost caucuses in Kansas and a primary in Louisiana on Saturday to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, his last remaining major rival. He won caucuses in Washington state.
The AP count showed McCain with 729 delegates. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, had 288. Huckabee had 241 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.
It takes 1,191 delegates to clinch the nomination, and McCain appears to be on track to reach the target by late April.
Obama has campaigned before huge crowds in recent days, and far outspent his rival on television advertising in the states participating in the regional primary in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
He began airing commercials in the region more than a week ago, and spent an estimated $1.4 million. Clinton began hers last Friday, at a cost estimated at $210,000.
With Clinton facing a series of possible defeats, and Obama riding a wave of momentum, the two camps debated which contender is more likely to defeat McCain in the general election.
An Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Obama with a narrow lead over the Arizona senator in a potential match-up, and Clinton running about even.
"We bring in voters who haven't given Democrats a chance" in the past, said Obama pollster Cornell Belcher, citing support from independents.
Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, countered that she holds appeal for women voters and Hispanics. "Hillary Clinton has a coalition of voters well-suited to winning the general election," he said.
Showing posts with label Mitt Romney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mitt Romney. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Obama, Clinton compete in 3 states
Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton competed for Democratic convention delegates across three states on Saturday, locked in a landmark struggle for the party's presidential nomination.
A total of 158 delegates was at stake in the Louisiana primary and caucuses in Nebraska and Washington. Caucuses in the Virgin Islands offered three more.
Clinton began the day with a slender delegate lead in The Associated Press count. She had 1,045 delegates to 960 for Obama. A total of 2,025 is required to win the nomination at the party convention in Denver.
Republican contests in Louisiana, Kansas and Guam provided John McCain a chance to advance closer to the 1,191 delegates he needs to make his nomination official.
The Arizona senator began the day with 707 delegates. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with 195, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, with 14, were his only remaining rivals following Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the race.
The day's contests opened a new phase in the Democratic race between Clinton, attempting to become the first woman in the White House, and Obama, hoping to become the first black.
The Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses in 22 states, which once looked likely to effectively settle the race, instead produced a near-equal delegate split.
That left Obama and Clinton facing the likelihood of a grind-it-out competition lasting into spring — if not to the convention itself.
With the night's events, 29 of the 50 states have selected delegates.
Two more — Michigan and Florida — held renegade primaries and the Democratic National Committee has vowed not to seat any delegates chosen at either of them.
Maine, with 24 delegates, holds caucuses on Sunday. Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia and voting by Americans overseas are next, on Tuesday, with 175 combined.
Then follows a brief intermission, followed by a string of election nights, some crowded, some not.
The date of March 4 looms large, 370 delegates in primaries in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Mississippi is alone in holding a primary one week later, with a relatively small 33 delegates at stake.
Puerto Rico anchors the Democratic calendar, with 55 delegates chosen in caucuses on June 7.
If Super Tuesday failed to settle the campaign, it produced a remarkable surge in fundraising.
Obama's aides announced he had raised more than $7 million on line in the two days that followed.
Clinton disclosed she had loaned her campaign $5 million late last month in an attempt to counter her rival's Super Tuesday television advertising. She raised more than $6 million in the two days after the busiest night in primary history.
The television ad wars continued unabated.
Obama has been airing commercials for more than a week in television markets serving every state that has a contest though Feb 19.
Clinton began airing ads midweek in Washington state, Maine and Nebraska, and added Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia on Friday.
A total of 158 delegates was at stake in the Louisiana primary and caucuses in Nebraska and Washington. Caucuses in the Virgin Islands offered three more.
Clinton began the day with a slender delegate lead in The Associated Press count. She had 1,045 delegates to 960 for Obama. A total of 2,025 is required to win the nomination at the party convention in Denver.
Republican contests in Louisiana, Kansas and Guam provided John McCain a chance to advance closer to the 1,191 delegates he needs to make his nomination official.
The Arizona senator began the day with 707 delegates. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with 195, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, with 14, were his only remaining rivals following Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the race.
The day's contests opened a new phase in the Democratic race between Clinton, attempting to become the first woman in the White House, and Obama, hoping to become the first black.
The Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses in 22 states, which once looked likely to effectively settle the race, instead produced a near-equal delegate split.
That left Obama and Clinton facing the likelihood of a grind-it-out competition lasting into spring — if not to the convention itself.
With the night's events, 29 of the 50 states have selected delegates.
Two more — Michigan and Florida — held renegade primaries and the Democratic National Committee has vowed not to seat any delegates chosen at either of them.
Maine, with 24 delegates, holds caucuses on Sunday. Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia and voting by Americans overseas are next, on Tuesday, with 175 combined.
Then follows a brief intermission, followed by a string of election nights, some crowded, some not.
The date of March 4 looms large, 370 delegates in primaries in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Mississippi is alone in holding a primary one week later, with a relatively small 33 delegates at stake.
Puerto Rico anchors the Democratic calendar, with 55 delegates chosen in caucuses on June 7.
If Super Tuesday failed to settle the campaign, it produced a remarkable surge in fundraising.
Obama's aides announced he had raised more than $7 million on line in the two days that followed.
Clinton disclosed she had loaned her campaign $5 million late last month in an attempt to counter her rival's Super Tuesday television advertising. She raised more than $6 million in the two days after the busiest night in primary history.
The television ad wars continued unabated.
Obama has been airing commercials for more than a week in television markets serving every state that has a contest though Feb 19.
Clinton began airing ads midweek in Washington state, Maine and Nebraska, and added Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia on Friday.
Obama has advantage in head-to-head with McCain
Sen. John McCain became the likely Republican nominee after Mitt Romney decided to suspend his campaign Thursday. Now, the Democrats are debating who would do better against the Arizona Republican.
Two polls this month have asked registered voters nationwide how they would vote if the choice were between McCain and Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton.
A CNN poll, conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation February 1-3, shows Clinton three points ahead of McCain, 50 percent to 47 percent. That's within the poll's margin of error of 3 percentage points, meaning that the race is statistically tied..
A Time magazine poll, conducted February 1-4, also shows a dead heat between Clinton and McCain. Each was backed by 46 percent of those polled.
Sen. Barack Obama believes he can do better, arguing "I've got appeal that goes beyond our party."
In the CNN poll, Obama leads McCain by 8 points, 52 percent to 44 percent. That's outside the margin of error, meaning that Obama has the lead.
And in the Time poll, Obama leads McCain by 7 points, 48 percent to 41 percent -- a lead also outside of the poll's margin of error of 3 percentage points.
In both polls, Obama looks stronger than Clinton. Why?
Obama's explanation: "I think there is no doubt that she has higher negatives than any of the remaining Democratic candidates. That's just a fact, and there are some who will not vote for her."
That was three weeks ago. Now, only two Democratic candidates remain.
Clinton does have higher negatives than Obama -- and McCain. Forty-four percent of the public say they don't like Clinton, compared with 36 percent who don't like McCain and 31 percent who don't like Obama, according to the CNN poll conducted February 1-3.
Why does Obama do better against McCain than Clinton? Obama does do a little better than Clinton with independents and Republicans.
But the big difference is men: Men give McCain an 18-point lead over Clinton, 57 percent to 39 percent, according to the CNN poll. The margin of error for that question was plus or minus 5 percentage points.
But if McCain and Obama went head to head, McCain's lead among men shrinks to three, 49 percent to 46 percent -- statistically a tie.
Women, on the other hand, vote for either Clinton or Obama by similar margins.
Some Democrats may be worried about how Obama will fare with white voters. Whites give McCain a 15-point lead over Clinton, (56 percent for McCain, 41 percent for Clinton).
But Obama actually fares better than Clinton with white voters. McCain still leads, but by a smaller margin, (52 to 43 percent).
Obama argues that he can reach across party lines. And he does do a little better than Clinton with Independents and Republicans, at least in these polls.
But the big difference is that Clinton doesn't draw very well with men. Obama does.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Candidates making Super Tuesday push
"I assume that I will get the nomination of the party," McCain told reporters, the front-runner so confident that he decided to challenge rival Mitt Romney in his home state of Massachusetts.
Romney, on the other hand, celebrated a caucus victory in Maine and told reporters he plans to do well Tuesday, "planning on getting the kind of delegates and support that shows that my effort is succeeding, and taking that across the nation. ... I am encouraged by the support which I'm seeing grow for me."
Clinton stressed pocketbook issues, the home mortgage crisis in a discussion with voters in a working class neighborhood, and health care at a noisy rally in California attended by former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson. "This is a cause that is the central passion of my public life," she said, and jabbed at Obama on the issue.
"My opponent will not commit to universal health care. I do not believe we should nominate any Democrat who will not stand here proudly today and commit to universal health care," she said in the continuation of a monthslong debate over which candidate's plan would result in wider coverage among the millions who now lack it.
Obama stopped in Idaho, where caucuses offer a mere 18 delegates on Tuesday, and he worked to reassure Westerners on two fronts.
"I've been going to the same church for more than 20 years, praising Jesus," he told an audience in Boise, warning his listeners not to believe e-mails that falsely say he is a Muslim.
In a region of the country where hunting is a way of life, he also said he has "no intention of taking away folks' guns." The Illinois senator did not mention his support for gun control legislation.
The two remaining Democratic rivals compete in primaries in 15 states as well as caucuses in seven more plus American Samoa on Tuesday, the busiest day of this or any other nominating campaign. A total of 1,681 delegates is at stake, including 370 in California alone, and the two campaigns have said they do not expect either side to emerge with a lock on the nomination.
Both have already begun turning their attention to Feb. 12 primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Obama told reporters on a flight from Boise to Minneapolis that he thinks the race for votes on Tuesday is getting tighter, even though the schedule seems to favor the more well-known Clinton. "I don't think that there is any doubt that we've made some progress. I don't think that there's any doubt that Senator Clinton — she's still the favorite," he said on the way to a rally that drew 20,000 people to the Target Center.
The Republican political landscape is different for McCain, Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, with nine of the 21 contests on the ballot awarding delegates winner-take-all to the top vote-getter.
At a stop in Minnesota, Romney called his caucus victory Saturday in Maine, where he took little over 50 percent of a presidential preference vote, "a people's victory," noting that it came despite McCain endorsement by the state's two U.S. senators.
"It is, in my view, also an indication that conservative change is something that the American people want to see. I think you're going to see a growing movement across this country to get behind my candidacy and to propel this candidacy forward," Romney said. "I think it's a harbinger of what you're going to see on Tuesday."
Without mentioning him by name, Romney also took a jab at McCain, telling an audience in Edina: "I don't think we win the White House by getting as close to Hillary Clinton as we can be without being Hillary Clinton."
Clinton, Obama, Huckabee and Paul participated via satellite in a televised youth forum during the evening. The event was sponsored by MTV, The Associated Press and MySpace.
Each appearing separately, the Democrats pitched their college aid proposals; Huckabee, his theory of "vertical" leadership that breaks through the "horizontal" politics of left and right; and Paul, his belief that government is best when it gets out of people's way.
Clinton, noting Democrats are choosing between a female and a black candidate, said: "Whichever of us gets the nomination, we are making history," and asserted she is the best equipped to lead. Equally mindful of history, Obama said the contest is not about the race or the sex of the candidates.
If it were just about his race, he said, "I wouldn't have to answer questions. I could just show up."
McCain's rivals have essentially conceded him New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Arizona, five winner-take-all states with 251 delegates combined.
That left McCain free to spend Saturday in Huckabee's probable area of strength, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. All three are home to large numbers of evangelical voters who have been slow to swing behind the Arizona senator on his march through the early primaries and caucuses.
He worked to reassure conservatives, telling them he had a 24-year record in the Senate of "fighting for the rights of the unborn" and boasting he never asked for a single earmark or pork barrel project for his home state of Arizona.
As for the slowing economy, he said the Senate must "stop fooling around and pass the president's stimulus package .... and restore some confidence."
McCain made no mention of Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is his closest pursuer in the race, or of Huckabee, the Baptist preacher-turned-politician.
In Tennessee, McCain made a pitch for the supporters of campaign dropout Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator. "He is a fine man. I had the distinct pleasure and honor of sitting next, my desk right next to Fred Thompson for eight years in the United States Senate," he said. Thompson has not endorsed any of the remaining candidates.
Before campaigning in Minnesota, Romney attended the funeral of Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in Salt Lake City. Romney would be the first Mormon to sit in the White House if he wins the presidency.
Huckabee campaigned across Alabama, taking thinly veiled swipes at McCain and Romney.
"You really would like to get a president to agree with himself on some issues," he said in a reference to Romney, who has switched positions on key issues since he ran against Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy in Massachusetts in 1994. As for McCain and the need to control federal spending, he said, "It doesn't make sense that someone would be sent to the White House who has a Washington address."
McCain emerged as the front-runner in the Republican race with a victory in the winner-take-all primary in Florida last Tuesday. In the days since, he has begun collecting endorsements from establishment figures ranging from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to former Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma.
But a significant number of conservatives remain vocally opposed to him, and Romney hopes to take advantage of their unwillingness to swing behind a longtime party maverick.
"It's going to destroy the Republican Party," radio show host Rush Limbaugh has said of a McCain nomination. Ann Coulter, the conservative author and commentator, has said she would prefer Clinton in the White House over McCain, adding, "I will campaign for her."
___
Associated Press writers Mike Glover in California and Arizona, Glen Johnson in Utah and Minnesota, Nedra Pickler in Idaho, Philip Rawls in Alabama, Liz Sidoti in Tennessee and Philip Elliott in New York contributed to this report.
Romney, on the other hand, celebrated a caucus victory in Maine and told reporters he plans to do well Tuesday, "planning on getting the kind of delegates and support that shows that my effort is succeeding, and taking that across the nation. ... I am encouraged by the support which I'm seeing grow for me."
Clinton stressed pocketbook issues, the home mortgage crisis in a discussion with voters in a working class neighborhood, and health care at a noisy rally in California attended by former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson. "This is a cause that is the central passion of my public life," she said, and jabbed at Obama on the issue.
"My opponent will not commit to universal health care. I do not believe we should nominate any Democrat who will not stand here proudly today and commit to universal health care," she said in the continuation of a monthslong debate over which candidate's plan would result in wider coverage among the millions who now lack it.
Obama stopped in Idaho, where caucuses offer a mere 18 delegates on Tuesday, and he worked to reassure Westerners on two fronts.
"I've been going to the same church for more than 20 years, praising Jesus," he told an audience in Boise, warning his listeners not to believe e-mails that falsely say he is a Muslim.
In a region of the country where hunting is a way of life, he also said he has "no intention of taking away folks' guns." The Illinois senator did not mention his support for gun control legislation.
The two remaining Democratic rivals compete in primaries in 15 states as well as caucuses in seven more plus American Samoa on Tuesday, the busiest day of this or any other nominating campaign. A total of 1,681 delegates is at stake, including 370 in California alone, and the two campaigns have said they do not expect either side to emerge with a lock on the nomination.
Both have already begun turning their attention to Feb. 12 primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Obama told reporters on a flight from Boise to Minneapolis that he thinks the race for votes on Tuesday is getting tighter, even though the schedule seems to favor the more well-known Clinton. "I don't think that there is any doubt that we've made some progress. I don't think that there's any doubt that Senator Clinton — she's still the favorite," he said on the way to a rally that drew 20,000 people to the Target Center.
The Republican political landscape is different for McCain, Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, with nine of the 21 contests on the ballot awarding delegates winner-take-all to the top vote-getter.
At a stop in Minnesota, Romney called his caucus victory Saturday in Maine, where he took little over 50 percent of a presidential preference vote, "a people's victory," noting that it came despite McCain endorsement by the state's two U.S. senators.
"It is, in my view, also an indication that conservative change is something that the American people want to see. I think you're going to see a growing movement across this country to get behind my candidacy and to propel this candidacy forward," Romney said. "I think it's a harbinger of what you're going to see on Tuesday."
Without mentioning him by name, Romney also took a jab at McCain, telling an audience in Edina: "I don't think we win the White House by getting as close to Hillary Clinton as we can be without being Hillary Clinton."
Clinton, Obama, Huckabee and Paul participated via satellite in a televised youth forum during the evening. The event was sponsored by MTV, The Associated Press and MySpace.
Each appearing separately, the Democrats pitched their college aid proposals; Huckabee, his theory of "vertical" leadership that breaks through the "horizontal" politics of left and right; and Paul, his belief that government is best when it gets out of people's way.
Clinton, noting Democrats are choosing between a female and a black candidate, said: "Whichever of us gets the nomination, we are making history," and asserted she is the best equipped to lead. Equally mindful of history, Obama said the contest is not about the race or the sex of the candidates.
If it were just about his race, he said, "I wouldn't have to answer questions. I could just show up."
McCain's rivals have essentially conceded him New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Arizona, five winner-take-all states with 251 delegates combined.
That left McCain free to spend Saturday in Huckabee's probable area of strength, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. All three are home to large numbers of evangelical voters who have been slow to swing behind the Arizona senator on his march through the early primaries and caucuses.
He worked to reassure conservatives, telling them he had a 24-year record in the Senate of "fighting for the rights of the unborn" and boasting he never asked for a single earmark or pork barrel project for his home state of Arizona.
As for the slowing economy, he said the Senate must "stop fooling around and pass the president's stimulus package .... and restore some confidence."
McCain made no mention of Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is his closest pursuer in the race, or of Huckabee, the Baptist preacher-turned-politician.
In Tennessee, McCain made a pitch for the supporters of campaign dropout Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator. "He is a fine man. I had the distinct pleasure and honor of sitting next, my desk right next to Fred Thompson for eight years in the United States Senate," he said. Thompson has not endorsed any of the remaining candidates.
Before campaigning in Minnesota, Romney attended the funeral of Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in Salt Lake City. Romney would be the first Mormon to sit in the White House if he wins the presidency.
Huckabee campaigned across Alabama, taking thinly veiled swipes at McCain and Romney.
"You really would like to get a president to agree with himself on some issues," he said in a reference to Romney, who has switched positions on key issues since he ran against Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy in Massachusetts in 1994. As for McCain and the need to control federal spending, he said, "It doesn't make sense that someone would be sent to the White House who has a Washington address."
McCain emerged as the front-runner in the Republican race with a victory in the winner-take-all primary in Florida last Tuesday. In the days since, he has begun collecting endorsements from establishment figures ranging from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to former Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma.
But a significant number of conservatives remain vocally opposed to him, and Romney hopes to take advantage of their unwillingness to swing behind a longtime party maverick.
"It's going to destroy the Republican Party," radio show host Rush Limbaugh has said of a McCain nomination. Ann Coulter, the conservative author and commentator, has said she would prefer Clinton in the White House over McCain, adding, "I will campaign for her."
___
Associated Press writers Mike Glover in California and Arizona, Glen Johnson in Utah and Minnesota, Nedra Pickler in Idaho, Philip Rawls in Alabama, Liz Sidoti in Tennessee and Philip Elliott in New York contributed to this report.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Republican Rivals Unite In Attacking Clinton
Republican presidential hopefuls heading to a key Florida primary put on a show of civility Thursday during a debate that contrasted with the bitter squabbling between Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The four leading Republican candidates all expressed support for the Iraq war, called for deeper tax cuts and even exchanged compliments, keeping their sharpest barbs for Senator Clinton.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain, who lead the Republican field, both lashed out at the former first lady's stance on the Iraq war.
Americans "don't want us to raise the white flag of surrender like Senator Clinton does," McCain said during the 90-minute debate in Boca Raton, Florida. "They know they can win."
Romney also called for increasing the size of the US armed forces by 100,000 troops to about 1.6 million.
The debate was seen as a crucial test ahead of Tuesday's Florida primary, considered pivotal for the Republicans because it delivers 57 delegates to the national assembly that will nominate the party's presidential candidate.
It is also the last major vote in the Republican race before a blitz of state primaries on February 5 known as Super Tuesday.
The race is seen as a make-or-break test for former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has staked his all on the state's primary but has seen support erode rapidly as his rivals picked up victories in smaller states.
Giuliani dismissed speculation the Florida primary would sound the death knell for his campaign.
"I think we'll do very well in Florida and very well on February 5th," he said.
A voter intention poll out Thursday indicated Romney and McCain were running neck-and-neck in the Florida race.
The Mason Dixon poll, conducted for a group of Florida newspapers, had Romney taking 30 percent and McCain 26 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.
Giuliani was in third place with 18 percent of likely voters and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee had 13 percent.
Buoyed by recent victories in South Carolina and Louisiana, McCain has picked up a crop of endorsements, including one from General Norman Schwarzkopf, who led allied forces in the 1991 Gulf War, and another from Rambo actor Sylvester Stallone.
McCain's status as a Vietnam war hero could help him in Florida, a state that is home to many war veterans and military bases.
Romney, for his part, has focused on his economic credentials at a time when many Americans fear the country could be headed toward recession.
"I spent my life in the real economy," Romney said in a television campaign ad, playing up his history as a venture capitalist with a reputation for successfully turning around ailing companies.
On the Democratic side, the candidates stayed away from Florida where their primary will not count because it is being held earlier than allowed under national party rules.
Clinton and Obama, a senator for Illinois, were campaigning hard in South Carolina, which holds a Democratic primary on Saturday.
Their campaigning has been overshadowed in recent days by a blazing dispute between Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, and Obama.
Obama is leading by double digits in South Carolina, with a Zogby poll on Thursday giving him 39 percent, with Clinton getting 24 percent. John Edwards is running third with 19 percent.
After winning in the first vote in Iowa, Obama is counting on a new victory in South Carolina to boost his momentum going into Super Tuesday, after he lost the last votes in New Hampshire and Nevada to Clinton.
But Clinton got a strong boost from the New York Times, which gave her a glowing endorsement.
"Hearing her talk about the presidency, her policies and answers for America's big problems, we are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience," the paper said.
The four leading Republican candidates all expressed support for the Iraq war, called for deeper tax cuts and even exchanged compliments, keeping their sharpest barbs for Senator Clinton.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain, who lead the Republican field, both lashed out at the former first lady's stance on the Iraq war.
Americans "don't want us to raise the white flag of surrender like Senator Clinton does," McCain said during the 90-minute debate in Boca Raton, Florida. "They know they can win."
Romney also called for increasing the size of the US armed forces by 100,000 troops to about 1.6 million.
The debate was seen as a crucial test ahead of Tuesday's Florida primary, considered pivotal for the Republicans because it delivers 57 delegates to the national assembly that will nominate the party's presidential candidate.
It is also the last major vote in the Republican race before a blitz of state primaries on February 5 known as Super Tuesday.
The race is seen as a make-or-break test for former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has staked his all on the state's primary but has seen support erode rapidly as his rivals picked up victories in smaller states.
Giuliani dismissed speculation the Florida primary would sound the death knell for his campaign.
"I think we'll do very well in Florida and very well on February 5th," he said.
A voter intention poll out Thursday indicated Romney and McCain were running neck-and-neck in the Florida race.
The Mason Dixon poll, conducted for a group of Florida newspapers, had Romney taking 30 percent and McCain 26 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.
Giuliani was in third place with 18 percent of likely voters and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee had 13 percent.
Buoyed by recent victories in South Carolina and Louisiana, McCain has picked up a crop of endorsements, including one from General Norman Schwarzkopf, who led allied forces in the 1991 Gulf War, and another from Rambo actor Sylvester Stallone.
McCain's status as a Vietnam war hero could help him in Florida, a state that is home to many war veterans and military bases.
Romney, for his part, has focused on his economic credentials at a time when many Americans fear the country could be headed toward recession.
"I spent my life in the real economy," Romney said in a television campaign ad, playing up his history as a venture capitalist with a reputation for successfully turning around ailing companies.
On the Democratic side, the candidates stayed away from Florida where their primary will not count because it is being held earlier than allowed under national party rules.
Clinton and Obama, a senator for Illinois, were campaigning hard in South Carolina, which holds a Democratic primary on Saturday.
Their campaigning has been overshadowed in recent days by a blazing dispute between Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, and Obama.
Obama is leading by double digits in South Carolina, with a Zogby poll on Thursday giving him 39 percent, with Clinton getting 24 percent. John Edwards is running third with 19 percent.
After winning in the first vote in Iowa, Obama is counting on a new victory in South Carolina to boost his momentum going into Super Tuesday, after he lost the last votes in New Hampshire and Nevada to Clinton.
But Clinton got a strong boost from the New York Times, which gave her a glowing endorsement.
"Hearing her talk about the presidency, her policies and answers for America's big problems, we are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience," the paper said.
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