The Evening Wrap: Supersized Vote
The two dozen Super Tuesday contests under way today stretched the campaigns of the front runners to their limits, although the day's voting still might not determine the presidential nominees.</br></br>The first result of the day came in the Republican race, which hinges on whether Sen. John McCain of Arizona can improve his status from front runner to prohibitive favorite. In West Virginia's winner- takes-all contest, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with apparent support from McCain followers, nipped former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The day emphasized some recent themes of the Republican primaries: animosity between Mr. Romney and Mr. McCain, apparent amity between the Arizona senator and Mr. Huckabee, and Mr. McCain's unpopularity with some conservatives. At the caucuses, Mr. Romney crystallized his critique against Mr. McCain, without naming any names. "One of the guys running for president the other day said the economy wasn't his strong suit," he said. "Well it is my strong suit." After the West Virginia vote, Mr. Romney's campaign also accused Mr. McCain of cutting a "backroom deal" with Huckabee supporters. For his part, Mr. McCain expressed outrage at Mr. Romney's dismissal of fellow Republican Bob Dole, who sent a letter defending Mr. McCain from the vociferous attacks of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Romney said Mr. Dole was "probably the last person I would have wanted to have write a letter for me." Mr. McCain, for obvious reasons, felt otherwise. "It's sad to see that comment about an American war hero who served our party so well," Mr. McCain said on his chartered plane before taking off from Newark, N.J., to California.</br></br>In the Democratic campaign, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be satisfied to claim a slight lead in their neck-and-neck race. Last night, Mrs. Clinton made two appearances on television, which the scope of Super Tuesday has made into an even more important tool than usual. She appeared in a town-hall broadcast on the Hallmark Channel and on the CBS Late Show with David Letterman. She planned to appear on local television stations in Super Tuesday states via satellite. One big question the day will help answer is who will inherit John Edwards's supporters now that he has withdrawn from the Democratic race. Mr. Obama kept up the pressure on Mrs. Clinton by speaking at a 15,000-strong rally in Connecticut, where he has eroded her considerable lead.</br></br>The final polls close in Alaska and Montana at midnight EST, although that might not be the end of it. A third of the 24 states holding contests today allow voters to submit ballots days before election day itself. But the counting of those ballots often take longer, and the votes may be enough to sway a race. In California, as many as two million early ballots may not be tallied until Wednesday.</br></br>---