International   

U.S. candidates prepare for lengthy fight

Dearborn (Michigan): The race for the U.S. presidential nomination is so close it could continue beyond the “Super Tuesday” primaries on February 5, forcing contenders in both the Democratic and Republican parties to rethink their strategies.

The first indication of a change of tack came from Hillary Clinton’s camp, which stepped up its fundraising this weekend in case the struggle against Barack Obama has to be taken beyond Super Tuesday. Her advisers told the New York Times they aimed to raise $10 million by the end of this month, on top of their existing war chest of $20 million, for post-Super Tuesday spending.

More than 20 states vote on February 5, including California, New York and Illinois, which between them command hundreds of delegates to the parties’ official nomination conferences.

Perceived wisdom has been that the nominee of both main parties will be all but crowned on the night of Super Tuesday, but with the Clinton-Obama race tight, and the Republican pack potentially split four ways between John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, it is possible that a decisive result will only emerge later.

The campaign between the two Democratic frontrunners has already grown tetchy, with Ms. Clinton on NBC’s Meet the Press programme accusing the Obama campaign of “deliberately distorting” her comments about Martin Luther King.

She said they misrepresented her words to give the impression that she was playing down King’s role in the civil rights movement. Her remarks that it took President Lyndon Johnson to effect civil rights legislation have been seized on by black leaders in South Carolina, where Democrats vote on January 26.

The unions have also been squabbling over how the next Democratic election should be held in Nevada on January 19. Mr. Obama has been endorsed by the Culinary Workers’ Union, and for the first time caucuses will be held in nine casinos along Las Vegas strip in a bid to increase the vote among service workers. But another union, the Nevada State Education Association, which has yet to endorse a candidate, is taking legal action to stop the caucuses, arguing that they will give Mr. Obama an unfair advantage.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll at the weekend suggested that whichever Democratic candidate emerged victorious would hold a substantial lead over three of the four Republican contestants — Mr. Romney, Mr. Huckabee or Mr. Giuliani — with well over 50 per cent of those surveyed saying that they would vote for the Democratic candidate for President. Only Mr. McCain performed competitively in the poll set against Ms. Clinton or Mr. Obama — respondents put him on 48 per cent, compared with 49 per cent for Mr. Obama and 50 per cent for Ms. Clinton.

Mr. McCain will be hoping to build on his victory in New Hampshire in Tuesday’s Michigan primary.

He is fighting a close race against Mr. Romney, who has the benefit of having been born in Michigan but who faces oblivion if he fails to win the state.

The political agenda nationally is turning increasingly to fears over a possible economic downturn, with the economy now level with the war in Iraq as voters’ main concern.

In Michigan, mired in recession, it is the overwhelming issue. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Musharraf rules out national government
“Japan committed to Sri Lanka”
LTTE circumventing ban in U.K.: Colombo
Five killed in Karachi blast
U.S. candidates prepare for lengthy fight
India, Oman to explore options in oil and gas

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu