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Obama routs Hillary in three primaries

Scott Shepard and Ken Herman

John McCain tightens grip on Republican party nomination

— Photo: AP

ON A ROLL: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama greets supporters in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON: On the heels of three big primary wins that made him the Democratic front-runner, Barack Obama pressed his attack on Wednesday on rival Hillary Clinton, saying she and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain are in part responsible for America’s economic woes.

Ms. Clinton focused on contests next month she hopes will help her faltering candidacy rebound and stop Mr. Obama’s string of victories.

The former First Lady, considered the overwhelming Democratic favourite just a few weeks ago, has now lost eight straight contests with her defeats on Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. She was shaking up her staff and turning her attention to must-win races next month in Texas and Ohio.

Mr. Obama is counting on wins in Wisconsin and his birthplace, Hawaii, next week.

On the Republican side, Mr. McCain took another step toward locking up his party’s nomination by winning all three contests, despite lukewarm support from the party’s conservative base. The victories helped the Arizona Senator save face after embarrassing losses to rival Mike Huckabee over the weekend.

Mr. Obama has been increasingly targeting Mr. McCain looking ahead to the November election. On Wednesday, he took his major rivals on directly, painting them as Washington insiders whose votes on the Iraq war have had stark economic consequences.

‘‘It’s a Washington where politicians like John McCain and Hillary Clinton voted for a war in Iraq that should’ve never been authorised and never been waged - a war that is costing us thousands of precious lives and billions of dollars a week’’ that could be used on infrastructure, job training and health care, said Mr. Obama at a campaign stop at a General Motors plant in Wisconsin.

Republican aspirant John McCain in Alexandria, Virginia.

Polls show Americans worry the country is already in a recession, thumped by falling housing prices and a serious credit crisis. GM on Tuesday reported the largest annual loss ever for a U.S. automotive company - $38.7 billion in 2007.

The Associated Press count of delegates showed Mr. Obama with 1,223, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as

superdelegates. Ms. Clinton had 1,198, falling behind for the first time since the campaign began. Neither was close to the 2,025 needed to win the nomination at the party’s national convention this summer in Denver.

The Illinois Senator’s victories were by large margins. He was gaining about 75 per cent of the vote in Washington, D.C., and nearly two-thirds in Virginia. In Maryland, he was winning close to 60 per cent.

He was expected to pick up another prize on Wednesday when David Wilhelm, the man who led the former President, Bill Clinton’s 1992 bid and later became chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was to endorse him, an Obama aide said. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement would be made public later in the day.

Mr. Obama won at least 65 delegates in Tuesday’s primaries, with 70 still to be awarded. Ms. Hillary won at least 33.

Ms. Hillary is counting on strong support from Hispanic voters to propel her to victory in Texas as they did in California on Super Tuesday a week ago. In El Paso, Texas, she repeated her campaign theme that she has the experience, as a sSnator and former First Lady, to lead the United States.

‘‘I’m tested, I’m ready, let’s make it happen,’’ she yelled to a boisterous crowd of about 12,000 on Tuesday night.

She did not mention Tuesday’s results, but there were lingering signs of the disquiet in her campaign. Her deputy campaign manager resigned on Tuesday, the latest departure in a staff shake-up.

In an e-mail message to staffers, Mike Henry said he was stepping down to allow campaign manager Maggie Williams to build her own team. Ms. Williams replaced Patti Solis Doyle over the weekend.

For Mr. Obama, Tuesday’s results were encouraging.

Interviews with voters leaving the polls on Tuesday showed Mr. Obama narrowly defeated Ms. Clinton among white voters in Virginia, 52 per cent to 47 per cent, the first time he has done that in a Southern state and only the fourth time he has done so in a competitive primary this year. Ms. Hillary won the white vote by 10 percentage points in Maryland. Mr. Obama won 90 per cent of the black vote in Virginia and almost as much in Maryland.

Ms. Clinton won a majority of white women in both states, though by less than she is accustomed to. Mr. Obama won among white men in Virginia, and they split that vote in Maryland.

Mr. McCain’s victory in Virginia was a relatively close one, by 9 percentage points, the result of an outpouring of religious conservatives who backed Huckabee. He received about half the vote in Virginia, and about 55 per cent in Maryland.

Mr. McCain, a four-term Senator, aimed much of his rhetoric at Mr. Obama and his message of hope and optimism. The 46-year-old Obama has been criticised for his lack of experience; he is serving his first term as an Senator.

Mr. McCain cautioned: ‘‘To encourage a country with only rhetoric rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people is not a promise of hope. It’s a platitude.’’

The AP count showed Mr. McCain with 821 delegates. The former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, had 288. Mr. Huckabee had 241 and Texas congressman Ron Paul had 14.

It takes 1,191 delegates to clinch the Republican nomination at the party’s convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Mr. McCain appears to be on track to reach the target by late April. - AP

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