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 Clinton lends her campaign $5 million
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million late last month as Barack Obama outraised and outspent her in the Democratic presidential race.
Clinton told reporters at her campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday that she made the loan, adding: "I believe the campaign would have a great month fundraising in January. We intended to be competitive and we were."
Obama, riding a wave of fundraising both from large donors and small Internet contributors, collected a stunning $32 million in January. Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said the Clinton campaign raised only $13.5 million for the month. The $5 million was in addition to that amount, Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said.
On Wednesday, the Clinton campaign set a new goal of raising $3 million over the next three days through the Internet.
"We have had one of our best fundraising efforts ever on the Web today and our Super Tuesday victories will only help in bringing more support for her candidacy," Wolfson said.
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McCain, Clinton lead delegate count
WASHINGTON (AP) -- John McCain won a big victory in the Republican delegate race over rival Mitt Romney on Super Tuesday, extending his lead by capturing nearly all the delegates in California.
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton held onto a relatively small lead over Barack Obama. However, there were still outstanding delegates to be awarded in Illinois and Georgia, where Obama fared well.
McCain won 601 delegates to 176 for Romney and 147 for Mike Huckabee in incomplete results. A total of 1,023 delegates were up for grabs in 21 states.
Overall, McCain led with 703 delegates to 269 for Romney and 190 for Huckabee. It takes 1,191 to win the nomination at this summer's convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Clinton led with 739 Super Tuesday delegates to Obama's 700. A total of 1,681 delegates were at stake in 22 states and American Samoa.
Overall, that gave Clinton 1,000 delegates, to 902 for Obama with 2,025 delegates required to claim the nomination in Denver at this summer's convention.
The AP tracks the delegate races by projecting the number of national convention delegates won by candidates in each presidential primary or caucus, based on state and national party rules, and by interviewing unpledged delegates to obtain their preferences.
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Obama: GOP will have dirt on Clinton
CHICAGO (AP) -- Barack Obama predicted Wednesday that Republicans will have a dump truck full of dirt to unload on Hillary Rodham Clinton if the former first lady wins the Democratic presidential nomination, and he said he offers the party its best hope of winning the White House this fall. Clinton countered that she did.
At a news conference on the morning after Super Tuesday, Obama offered some pointed advice to members of Congress and other party leaders who will attend the national convention this summer as delegates not chosen in primaries or caucuses.
He said if he winds up winning more delegates in voting than Clinton, they "would have to think long and hard about how they approach the nomination when the people they claim to represent have said,
'Obama's our guy,'" he said.
Clinton, in a later news conference at her campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., said, "If voters start to think about who would be the best president, to be commander in chief on day one, to turn the economy around and who would be the best Democratic nominee to win in November, I am very comfortable with the answers to those questions."
Obama won primaries and caucuses in 13 states on Tuesday, including his home state of Illinois. Clinton won eight states, including her adopted home state of New York, and American Samoa. Obama and Clinton were in a tight race in New Mexico.
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McCain faces conservative test
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Now the undisputed leader for the GOP nomination, John McCain focused Wednesday on immediate goals. One was daunting: Winning over wary right-flank Republicans. Another less so: Cementing the nomination with victories in upcoming contests.
"I have a long conservative record," argued the Arizona senator known for his independent streak, as he conceded he has work to do to unify a fractured party for the fall campaign. His first test comes Thursday in a high-profile speech before conservative activists who have been his longest and loudest critics inside the party.
"We share the common principles and values and ideas for the future of this country based on a fundamental conservative political philosophy, which has been my record," McCain said in Phoenix. A day after he seized clear control of the race for the nomination, he implored the vocal right flank to temper its acrimonious attacks on him. "I do hope that at some point we would just calm down a little bit and see if there's areas we can agree on."
Conservative resistance aside, McCain faced continued opposition from Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, his rivals in the nominating battle.
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Two Mich. congressmen endorse Clinton
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up endorsements Wednesday from two veteran Michigan congressmen, adding to her cache of potential superdelegates should Michigan and Florida prevail in their effort to be counted at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Democrats John Dingell and Dale Kildee said Clinton has the experience and skills to become president. The lawmakers were uncommitted in Michigan's primary last month.
Although Michigan has been stripped of its convention delegates for violating party rules by moving up its primary to Jan. 15, state party officials expect Michigan's delegates eventually to be seated.
Clinton a week and a half ago said she planned to ask her convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Michigan and Florida, which also was stripped of its delegates. Obama has not said if he will do the same.
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Bush ready to back GOP nominee
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush, unpopular nationally but still a fundraising force, is ready to put the power of the White House behind the Republican nominee for president. Exactly what his role will be is a trickier matter.
What's clear for now is that Bush, in the last of his eight years in office, is preparing to be deferential. In reality, and by tradition, this is not his race to run.
Despite Sen. John McCain's clear front-runner status, don't expect Bush to break his relative silence for a while. The White House is waiting until a candidate either clinches the nomination or emerges as the last man standing because of withdrawals by the other candidates.
Either way, clarity could take several more weeks. And even then, a burst of activity by Bush is unlikely.
"There is kind of a reset button in which the nominee reintroduces himself to the public. And it's going to be important for the president and the White House to let him do just that," said Dan Bartlett, Bush's former counselor and a key aide during Bush's campaigns for Texas governor and president.
"That definitional period is so significant, and the president is such a big gun to associate yourself with," Bartlett said. "So I wouldn't expect a big bear hug."
When Bush does get actively engaged, he has tools to influence the campaign that no one else can wield.
Bush can issue executive orders and promote policies that put his party in a good light. He can zoom into town on Air Force One and raise huge amounts of money for his party. And he has a Cabinet stocked with surrogates who can visit targeted states and congressional districts to dole out grants.
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THE DEMOCRATS
Hillary Rodham Clinton talked to the media in Arlington, Va. Barack Obama spoke to the media in Chicago before heading to Washington.
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THE REPUBLICANS
John McCain talked to the media in Phoenix before traveling to Washington. Mitt Romney holds meetings in Boston. Mike Huckabee appeared on morning television programs.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"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."
-- Democrat Barack Obama, on his rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign
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STAT OF THE DAY:
Fifty-seven percent of Republicans and 42 percent of Democrats see Republican John McCain as ethical, while 44 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of Democrats view Republican Mitt Romney as strong, according to an AP-Yahoo News survey.
[Associated
Press]
Compiled by Ann Sanner.
Copyright 2007 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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