U.S. Voters Head To The Polls For Super Tuesday

Voters across America are heading to the polls for what could be a pivotal day in deciding which Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls face off in the race to the White House.

Some of the biggest prizes of the primary season -- California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Missouri and Georgia -- are up for grabs on "Super Tuesday", when voters make their party choices in 24 of the states, as well as American Samoa.

At stake are more than four-fifths of the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination and more than 1,000 of the 1,191 necessary delegates on the Republican side.

This year's presidential race is generating more interest than usual because of its open nature. The current president, Republican George W. Bush, has served two terms in office and is ineligible to stand, while vice-president Dick Cheney is also not running.

None of the four Republicans and two Democrats seeking to be nominated by their parties have been adopted as official presidential candidates before.

The Democratic race between Illinois senator Barack Obama and New York senator Hillary Clinton, is already extremely close, with neither side expected to deliver a knock out blow. The chances of a clearcut winner will be further reduced by how the Democrats usually split delegates by a proportion of the popular vote.

Obama has taken first blood, with Democratic Party supporters voting abroad in Indonesia -- where Obama spent four years of his childhood -- picking him over Clinton.

But Obama and Clinton are likely to split the delegates fairly evenly, Democratic analyst Peter Fenn said.

Obama promoted his health-insurance proposal Tuesday, arguing that most people will opt for coverage if it is made affordable.

He told CNN's "American Morning" from San Francisco that his plan would allow anyone to get health care, and coverage would be mandated for children. Those who couldn't afford insurance would receive a subsidy, and there would be no restrictions because of pre-existing medical conditions.

"Our focus has been on reducing costs, making it available. I am confident that if people have a chance to buy high-quality health care that is affordable, they will do so," Obama said.

Clinton, who returned to her touchstone issue of health care Monday, had previously said Obama's plan is "not doable

She cast her vote in the New York's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday morning at the polling station in Chappaqua's Douglas Grafflin Elementary School with her husband and daughter.

She has campaigned on the contention that her eight years as first lady makes her more qualified on "day one" than Barack Obama, who has been a U.S. senator for just four years.

Former President Bill Clinton said casting his primary ballot for his wife was "one of the proudest moments of my life."

"I think that Obama clearly has an advantage in those seven states that are doing caucuses," Fenn said. "I think she's got to carry the big states that she had planned on. California is clearly up for grabs now ... Unless one or the other gets annihilated, I think they go on to many more Tuesdays."

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll Monday, the two Democratic front-runners were virtually tied. Obama garnered 49 percent of registered Democrats, while Clinton trailed by just 3 percentage points. With a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, the margin is too close to call.

The Republican battle between Arizona senator John McCain, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee could be decided in Tuesday's vote with more than 1,000 of the 1,191 delegates needed to clinch the presidential nomination at stake. Other candidates include Ron Paul, who has described himself as an "old-time, conventional, traditional conservative" and "the most conservative member of Congress."

The Republicans allocate delegates in most primary states on a winner-take-all basis -- which means that wins in the biggest states by McCain, who leads national Republican polls, have the potential to propel him to a towering lead over his rivals.

While last-minute polls indicate Romney has gained ground against McCain in California, Romney is likely to split races with Huckabee in the South, Republican strategist John Feehery said.

"In the Northeastern states and Midwest, I think John McCain is going to win," Feehery said. "I think it's really hard for Mitt Romney to get this nomination."

Early Tuesday the two leading Republican candidates chose to evoke the spirit of two-time Republican president Ronald Reagan.

McCain, out on the streets of Manhattan with former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani -- who is endorsing him after dropping out of the Republican race last week -- said that he is the Republican who can win the White House by gaining the support of independent voters.

McCain, also accompanied by senator Joe Lieberman, told supporters that his campaign would "take the battle to the enemy."

"I guarantee you as the nominee of my party, I can and will carry the city of New York, as well as the state of New York because we know how to appeal to independents," he said.

"We are the greatest nation on earth. We will continue to lead and we will be, as Ronald Reagan said, a shining city on a hill."

Meanwhile Romney, speaking to CNN's "America Morning" from Charleston, West Virginia, said that a victory for him in California and other key states would pave the way for wider success.

"It will indicate the conservative voices in our party are standing up and saying, 'wait a second, we want to make sure that this party does not leave the house that Ronald Reagan built.

"And if that happens, I think we're going to see a very clear pathway to gain additional delegates from the ongoing contests, and put together the winning combination to get the nomination."

The two rivals exchanged bitter words Monday. Romney positioned himself as the conservative alternative to the Arizona senator, who has infuriated Republican activists with his support for immigration reform and campaign-finance reform as well as opposition against tax cuts, claiming that "you have a hard time distinguishing him from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama."

Meanwhile McCain attacked Romney for raising taxes, while refuting claims he's not conservative enough.

Romney suggested Sunday that Huckabee, who has struggled since winning the January 3 Iowa caucuses, quit the race because he was splitting the conservative vote. But Huckabee said Romney's assumption that Huckabee supporters would turn to him was "presumptuous and even arrogant."

Paul Tuesday said that the U.S. government has drifted in the past hundred years from following the Constitution, but he would put it back on track with balanced budgets, elimination of income taxes and the IRS, and withdrawal from "entangling alliances," including the United Nations.

Giuliani quits White House race

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has pulled out of the Republican race for the White House after disappointing primary results in Florida.
Mr Giuliani announced he was giving his support to Arizona Senator John McCain, describing him as "an American hero".

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California will also endorse Mr McCain.

Earlier on Wednesday, Democrat John Edwards left the race, without backing any of his rivals, after failing to win a single party nomination contest.

Mr Edwards contested Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and his native South Carolina, but only in Iowa did he get higher than third place, and that only by the narrowest of margins.

He told supporters in New Orleans, where he launched his latest White House bid in 2006: "It's time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path."

Heated debate

Mr Giuliani announced his withdrawal just before the remaining Republican candidates began a televised debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday evening.

With the two other candidates - former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Texas Congressman Ron Paul - often struggling to be heard, the 90-minute debate was dominated by the verbal jousting of the two front-runners.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney accused Mr McCain of "dirty tricks" for accusing him - just before Tuesday's Florida primary - of supporting a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

"It's offensive to me that someone would suggest that I have," said Mr Romney.

Mr Romney said Mr McCain was out of the conservative mainstream, having twice voted against President Bush's tax cuts, which the Republican establishment had embraced.

Mr McCain countered that he was proud of his conservative credentials, and questioned Mr Romney's administrative record in Massachusetts.

"His job creation was the third worst in the country," said the Arizona senator.

The simmering tensions were indicative of the pressure that is building ahead of next week's "Super Tuesday", when 20 states hold their nominating votes in what could be a decisive day in the race for the White House.

Rudy's gamble

In contrast to the heated exchanges in Simi Valley, Mr Giuliani's address was light-hearted.

This man is a national hero and I'm honoured by his friendship

John McCain on Rudy Giuliani

He said he had thought he was the sort of person who had the qualities to make a good president of the United States, "but the voters made a different choice".

"John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States," Mr Giuliani said. "He's an American hero and America could use heroes in the White House."

He added that Mr McCain was a longstanding friend and he would campaign alongside him whenever and wherever he was needed.

Mr McCain returned the compliments, praising Mr Giuliani's leadership as mayor in the wake of the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001.

He described his former rival as "my strong right arm and my partner".

"This man is a national hero and I'm honoured by his friendship," he said.

Mr Giuliani was seen by his supporters as a tough commander in chief, while other Republicans were wary of his attitude on social issues, like abortion.

When he entered the race more than a year ago he led some national polls and had an impressive war chest. He is reported to have spent up to a million dollars a week on TV advertising in Florida alone.

Correspondents say his decision to focus his efforts on Florida was always going to be either a stroke of political genius or an unwise gamble that would see him fall at the first hurdle.

Mr Giuliani won 15% of the vote, behind Mr McCain with 36% and Mitt Romney with 31% and just ahead of Mike Huckabee who won 13%.

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.