Nader enters the race

Ralph Nader, a longtime consumer advocate, announces he is running for president on a "third-party" ticket on "Meet The Press." (Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Samuel Rubenfeld
News Editor

Ralph Nader announced he is running for President Sunday morning on NBC's "Meet the Press." He has run for president in the last five election cycles, dating back to 1992.

"Dissent is the mother of ascent," he said. " And in that context, I have decided to run for president."

Many Democrats blame Nader for spoiling their chances at the presidency in 2000, when then-Gov. George Bush beat Vice President Al Gore by only 537 votes in Florida. Nader ran in 2000 as the nominee for the Green Party, and he received nearly 98,000 votes in Florida, many of whom said they would have voted for Gore if Nader wasn't running, according to exit polls take in 2000.

In 2004, Nader ran as an Independent, but he also received the endorsement of the Reform Party. He received 0.3 percent of the vote nationally in 2004.

"He's going to ruin our chances for the president, and we're going to have another Republican in the White House," said Nicholas Bond, a junior and president of the College Democrats of Hofstra University. "I hate him."

The Democratic candidates were quick to condemn Nader's announcement. ""I remember when he ran before. It didn't turn out very well for anybody -- especially our country, " said Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.).

Sen. Barack Obama criticized Nader when asked about his possible candidacy earlier in the weekend. "My sense is that Mr. Nader is somebody who, if you don't listen and adopt all of his policies, thinks you're not substantive," Obama told reporters.

Nader, on "Meet the Press," called Obama a "person of substance" who has "run a very good tactical campaign." But Nader added: "His better instincts have been censored, I think, by himself."

Democrats duel in Austin

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

Taking a break from recent verbal attacks on one another, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) drew differences between their views on foreign policy and health care--as well as other issues--as they took part in a 90-minute debate at the University of Texas at Austin on Feb. 21.

Responding to the resignation of Cuban president Fidel Castro, Clinton, addressing the night's opening question, said it "gives Cuba a chance to change direction."

"If Cuba moves toward democracy and toward freedom for its people, the United States would welcome that," she said, after saying she would not meet immediately with Cuba's presumed new leader, Raul Castro, only after "it demonstrated" change in direction.

Obama disagreed, restating his position that he would be willing to meet without preconditions, adding, "I think it's important for the United States to not just talk to its friends, but its enemies."

"We've got to restore a sense of fairness and responsibility," Obama said of the economy as he was reminded by one of the moderators it was a primary concern of voters.

The debate also featured sharp disagreement and contention between the candidates. Regarding the charge the Clinton campaign made about Obama allegedly plagiarizing speeches, Clinton said: "Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox."

Clinton was showered with boos, and Obama mumbled under his breath as she made the allegation.

The candidates largely agreed on many issues throughout the first half of the debate, including their approaches to immigration reform.

"We are a nation of laws," Obama said, "and we are a nation of immigration and we can reconcile those two things."

Clinton agreed to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country as long as they paid fines, back taxes and learned English.

The Texas primaries, which occur the same day as contests in Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont, is on March 4.

Overnight, Obama picks up Hawaii

By Samuel Rubenfeld
News Editor

Stretching his winning streak to 10 states, Barack Obama picked up a victory on Tuesday in Hawaii, the state in which he was born.

Obama won by a margin of 3-1, beating Hillary Clinton 76 percent to 24 percent in the state's caucuses. The Associated Press called the victory at 3:44 a.m. Eastern Standard time.

The victories Tuesday night of the Wisconsin primary and Washington state's "beauty contest" by Obama gives him a significant lead in the delegate count. According to the Associated Press, which counts superdelegates as well as pledged delegates, Obama leads 1,319 to 1,245.

To reach a majority, a campaign must receive 2,025 delegates.

Analysts believe the race is becoming increasingly difficult for Clinton to win. "Suddenly, she needs 65 percent of these remaining states, of these delegates, just overturn that delegate lead that he has," said NBC News Political director Chuck Todd as the network covered the results Tuesday night.

"It moves that mountain that Hillary Clinton has to climb, when it comes to these delegates, a little bit higher. It's as if it keeps growing, it keeps growing, and she keeps taking steps back and it just keeps getting farther and farther out of reach," he said.

Clinton, at an event at New York's Hunter College Wednesday morning, sharpened her attacks on Obama over words versus deeds.

The next contests are on March 4, and they are primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Obama wins in Wisconsin, cements frontrunner status

Barack Obama delivers a nearly 45-minute long victory speech heavy on the specifics in Houston, Tex. (Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

Retaining the momentum he garnered after a host of victories earlier this month, Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won the Wisconsin primary Feb. 19, making it his ninth consecutive win in a race that now has fellow Democratic contender Hillary Clinton pressured for big wins in the Ohio and Texas primaries to take place March 4.

Although Wisconsin's blue-collar and lower-income population would appear to have benefited Sen. Clinton, the junior Illinois senator took 58 percent of the vote to Sen. Clinton's 41 percent, with 96 percent of precincts reporting.

Hawai'i also held its caucuses Tuesday, but the results do not come in until after the caucuses close at 1:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Also, Washington state held a primary that will award no delegates, but with 53 percent of precincts reporting, Obama held onto a 50 percent to 47 percent lead, with the Associated Press not declaring a winner.

"We can't just have speeches, we've got to have solutions," said Clinton, referring to Obama in her primary night speech from Youngstown, Ohio. "The best words in the world aren't enough unless you match them with action."

Clinton did not mention the results in Wisconsin in her speech. And she was pre-empted by all three cable-news channels (FOX, MSNBC and CNN) when Obama took the stage to declare victory in Houston, Tex.

"The problem that we face today in America today is not the lack of good ideas, it is that Washington has become a place where good ideas go to die," Obama said, after learning he had won the Wisconsin primary. He delivered an uncharacteristically long victory speech which lasted nearly 45 minutes, and it was heavy on policy specifics, including his views on education reform, health care and immigration.

"We're here because we still believe that change is possible," he said.

Washington awarded its delegates during caucuses held Feb. 9, which Obama won. The state legislature there decided to go ahead with what was being called a "beauty contest" even though the Democratic National Committee decided to allot their delegates after the caucuses. Nearly 500,000 voters had turned out with 53 percent of the precincts reporting.

Obama's ninth straight victory comes after New Mexico announced the winner of its caucus held on Super Tuesday. Clinton edged Obama out by 1,709 votes there, party officials announced last Thursday.

In the days before the two contests, the Clinton camp accused Obama of plagiarizing the words of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and using them as his own in his stump speeches.

The Clinton camp said it "calls into question the premise of his candidacy."

But when asked about allegations of plagiarism by Clinton herself which had been raised in press reports about Obama, senior Clinton campaign advisor Howard Wolfson said she "is not running on the strength of her rhetoric" in a conference call with reporters.

Obama rejected the charges of plagiarism and said that he often borrows the words of the Massachusetts governor – a person he campaigned for in his successful 2006 gubernatorial bid, and who has publicly defended him in response to the attacks.

In Texas, Obama was charging ahead. "The change we seek is still months and miles away, and we need the good people of Texas to help us get there," he said.

McCain wins Wisconsin, Washington state primaries

John McCain attacked Barack Obama in his victory speech after winning the Wisconsin primaries. Later in the night, he was also announced the winner of the Washington state primary. (Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Michelle Westgate

Staff Writer

John McCain can add Wisconsin and Washington state to the list of states he has won this primary season.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting in Wisconsin, McCain has won 55 percent of the votes, while Mike Huckabee has received 37 percent of the votes. In Washington, where some of the delegates were already elected in caucuses held on Feb. 9, McCain won with 49 percent of the vote, with 53 percent of precincts reporting.

Huckabee only captured 21 percent of the vote there, with 23 percent of voters choosing "other."

“Even a superstitious naval aviator can claim with confidence and humility that I will be our party’s nominee for president of the United States,” McCain said at a rally tonight in Columbus, OH, as he thanked Wisconsin for this latest success.

In the speech, he also attacked Barack Obama. "I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change," he said.

The Washington state caucuses, which allocated the rest of the state's delegates, held on Feb. 9 are in legal limbo. McCain was declared victorious with only 87 percent of the votes counted, and Huckabee filed a lawsuit demanding a recount of the caucus results. McCain's margin of victory over Huckabee in the caucus was 2 percent, 26 percent to 24 percent.

McCain spent the last four days collecting key endorsements, including former candidate Mitt Romney, who announced that he was supporting McCain, and he encouraged his delegates to do the same.

“This is a man capable of leading our country at a dangerous hour,” Romney said.

In addition to the support of Romney, former President George H.W. Bush also endorsed McCain this week. Both Romney and Bush refer to McCain’s experience as a war hero when citing his ability to lead the nation.

“His character was forged in the crucible of war,” Bush said. “His commitment to America is beyond any doubt.”

Despite the recent endorsements, McCain still appears to be struggling to gain the support of the party’s more conservative members. In CNN exit polls tonight, 42 percent of GOP voters said McCain was not conservative enough. However, moderate voters and less conservative voters carried him to victory.

"Will the next President have the experience...and the strength of purpose to respond...in ways that strengthen our security?" McCain asked as he attacked Obama on foreign policy. "Or will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan?

"I’m not the youngest candidate, but I am the most experienced,” he said.

Apologies

The Chronicle apologizes for not covering the campaign through a pivotal weekend in electoral politics. But stay tuned, as we wrap and analyze the results in our print edition, hitting stands Thursday evening.

Links will be provided upon online publication.

UPDATE: Stories can be found here and here.

OPINION: The End for Romney

By Akeem Mellis

WASHINGTON--Today, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gave one of the better speeches conservatives have heard in a while. He defended the essence of conservatism and gave conservatives the best possible reason to choose him over Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

It’s a shame, however, that Romney then proceeded to capitulate in the face of unfavorable odds and ended the candidacy of the Republican party’s last and best hope to deny McCain the party’s nomination.

As an attendee to this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, I watched Romney’s speech on site with rapt attention, joining other conservatives in the hopes that Romney would repeat what he did last year at the Conference, and start a spark among Republicans that can somehow restart and rejuvenate his campaign in the wake of Super Tuesday.

For a while, the speech Romney delivered today sounded like something that could do exactly that. He touched on familiar and time tested themes, like ensuring that America’s culture is preserved in the face of what Democrats would want to do.

And that was just to chip away at Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s supporters on the religious right. He then brilliantly pounded home his economic prowess, a key asset that neither Huckabee nor McCain has in the face of looming economic troubles.

Finally, he stood up to McCain’s strength on national security by illustrating how strong he would be on terror and keeping America on the offensive against terrorists. The person conservatives have flocked to as the only true conservative left in the primary showed them why they were right to support him.

This made his announcement immediately thereafter that he would withdraw from the race even more painful to watch and digest. A not-so successful Super Tuesday fueled today’s stunning end to his campaign.

While Romney did win his home state and several Western states outside Arizona, he lost big time on two fronts: the biggest prizes of the night in New York and California; and failing to make any inroads down in the South, with Mike Huckabee winning Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Arkansas.

These twin blows led to the campaign having “frank discussions” of whether or not he should continue, and today the decision was revealed. Now, there is no significant opposition to Senator McCain – unless you count Huckabee, who’s down big time against McCain in national polls right now.

So what’s next? Well it came almost immediately after Romney dropped out. Senator McCain finally showed up to CPAC after spurning it last year as his candidacy went into high gear.

While the goal of his speech was to unite conservatives still weary of his actions over the past 7 years, he should know that one speech won’t do the trick.

He’ll need the GOP base, and he needs it soon if he wants to win in November. His speech was a start, but there’s still a long way to go. But McCain’s work starts now, as his last significant opposition has exited stage left today.

Akeem Mellis is the president of the College Republicans. You can e-mail him at amelli3@pride.hofstra.edu.

Romney leaves the race

By Michelle Westgate
Staff Writer

Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) formally suspended his campaign Thursday during a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee Convention.

“This isn’t an easy decision,” said Romney. “I hate to lose,” he said.

Many speculate that Romney’s withdrawal gives Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) a guarantee to the nomination for the Republicans in the general election.

“Romney’s announcement effectively ends the Republican race,” said Mark Landis, the chairperson for the political science department. McCain will now be able to focus on the presidential race, instead of the battle for the nomination, he added.

Richard Himelfarb, an associate professor of political science, is "certain" that McCain will be the Republican nominee for the November election.

With Romney out of the race, no other candidate will be able to overcome McCain’s current lead. “Huckabee is so far behind that he is not going to catch up,” he said.

Landis speculated that Huckabee may soon withdraw from the race as well.

Although Romney has not officially endorsed McCain, his statement today seemed to suggest that Republicans should come together for the sake of the nation. He explained that his campaign was hindering the protection of the U.S.

“In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,” said Romney.

According to Landis, Romney’s choice to suspend his campaign, rather than quit, allows him to continue receiving federally-matched funds for contributions received. However, suspending his campaign does not give him total control over the delegates he has already won.

“Suspending his campaign allows Romney to keep his delegates he won at the congressional district level in past primaries and caucuses,” said Landis. “Delegates won at the state level are now released from him and will be allocated in a manner to be determined by those states’ Republican Party committees,” he said.

In response to Romney’s withdrawal, McCain expressed that he is not slowing down. In an AP interview today, he said “We’re continuing campaigning and not taking anything for granted."

Romney suspends campaign

After reports from NBC News Tuesday night about "frank discussions" in the Romney campaign due to a poor outing in the Super Tuesday contests, Romney officially suspends his campaign in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC).

The Republicans: Finding a Nominee

By Michelle Westgate

Staff Writer

Super Tuesday's primary contests confirmed the frontrunner status of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), who captured both the most and the largest states up for grabs in the Republican contests. But the results also showed the resurgence of Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.), who was written off for dead after poor showings in South Carolina and Florida prior to the almost-national contest.

Twenty-one states held Republican contests during the largest primary event in modern U.S.-political history. Early in the day, candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney appeared to be the Republican front-runners.

McCain captured states traditionally won by Democrats during the general election, including New York, New Jersey and California. Huckabee won some important southern states, including Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama and his native state of Arkansas.

Richard Himelfarb, an associate professor of political science, described Huckabee’s advance as an upset. “What this says is that McCain has not sealed the deal yet,” he said.

In a speech Tuesday night from Little Rock, Ark., Huckabee said: "A lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two-man race. You know what? It is, and we're in it."

After the results were announced, NBC News reported that Romney was going to have "frank discussions" with senior staff at his Boston campaign headquarters on Wednesday.

Most of the states that held Republican contests on Super Tuesday were winner-take-all, giving McCain's victories in nine states added importance. He leads with 522 delegates, with Romney taking 223 and Huckabee winning 142, according to Associated Press estimates. Nearly 1,200 delegates are needed to win the nomination.

“I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination of President of the United States," McCain said at his election night rally in Phoenix, Ariz. "And I don't really mind it one bit.”

For the Democrats: The Battle Continues

By Elizabeth Mishler
Special to the Chronicle

Just as it was predicted going in, the Democratic Primaries on Super Tuesday were very, very close. Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y) and Barack Obama (Ill.) split the total popular vote almost evenly, with more than 11 million Democrats voting Feb. 5, with 76 percent of total precincts reporting.

Since no candidate swept the day, the campaign continues and the battle for the Democratic nomination moves on.

But instead of the battle involving who won what states, the Democrats battled over delegates within Congressional districts, because the Democratic party nominates its delegates based on proportional vote totals. According to Associated Press estimates, Clinton leads Obama 656 to 558, including super-delegates, who are convention nominees not tied to a specific candidate.

The primary day was the closest to a National Primary election there has been in the modern primary era. Democrats voted in 23 contests, from Alaska to California, New York to Idaho. Because of proportional apportionment, a candidate can lose a state, but still win more delegates than the winner.

In the Democratic Party there are 4,049 delegates up for grabs. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates backing them in order to win the nomination.

At her election night campaign rally at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Clinton said that she wanted to bring her voters “values and dreams” to the White House. “Tonight is your night. Tonight is our night,” she said.

Obama’s speech from his rally in Chicago emphasized his supporter's role in his campaign. “Ordinary people can still do ordinary extraordinary things,” he said. "We are the change that we seek."

The campaign for the Democratic nomination continues, with both campaigns claiming victory on a chaotic day.

Super Tuesday Primary Night Live-blog

Elections inspector drops some 'hints'

When asked who she voted for in today's primary, Veronica Guerad of Levittown let out a hearty chuckle.

"Do you want the truth or a lie?" she said, moving her hands onto her hips. "I voted for the lesser of two evils."

As an inspector for the elections at Eisenhower Park, Guerad legally can't say who she voted for, but was able to drop some hints. "I supported former [New York City] Mayor [Rudy] Giuliani when he was in the race," she said. "After 9/11, he was down in the dirt."

After growing up through the Great Depression and World War II, she believes the New York Primary is a crucial vote.

The generations before this--your mothers, fathers and grandparents fought for this country. We established unions. We picketed in the streets. We can't have that slip."
(Jacqueline Hlavenka/The Chronicle)

Student: Sen. Obama 'impressive'

"Number one, Obama is very promising," said Landeric Perric, a junior drama major at the University. "The issues about health care, education and immigration are important. I feel he is equipped to tackle these issues in the upcoming presidential race." Perric came out to the polls in the morning at the California Avenue School in Uniondale, three blocks away from C.V. Starr Hall at the University. (Jacqueline Hlavenka/The Chronicle)

OPINION: Fearing McCain

By Nicholas Bond

John McCain scares me. He scares me a lot.

It is not because he is an exceptional public servant over the last twenty years. It is not that he is a war hero whose record cannot be brought into question. It is not because he has shown time and time again an unwavering moral compass and a steely strength in his convictions.

It is that whomever the Democratic party, my party, chooses to challenge him in the general election, will do that which McCain could not do in a thousand years with a thousand speeches that had a thousand references to Ronald Reagan each:

they will make him Republican enough.

To this point, the only potential chink in the McCain armor has been that he is seen by many Republicans as “not Republican enough” because of his willingness to reach across the aisle and do what is required of his lofty position and even loftier ideals; but now this open wound on McCain’s body of work has been assuaged by either Democratic nominee.

This is not the fault of the Democrats but rather of the American people, who, despite what they say in polls and what they say in interview, fear so greatly change of the necessary grandeur and fear the work that must be put in to make this society equitable for all.

McCain is a fine candidate, and would be an obvious upgrade to the current administration, but it is the belief of myself and many others, that we must take this election by the horns, we must not just settle for “better than before” we must reach for that brass ring on the never-ending carousel of American life, and hopefully, Tuesday will be the day that we can make this happen.

I have faith in you, America. Now, go vote!

Nicholas Bond is the president of the College Democrats, and the Chronicle Sports Editor. You can e-mail him at

OPINION: McCain poised to win nomination without Heart of the Party

By Akeem Mellis

Can a candidate for their party's nomination for President of the United States actually win that nomination without the support of the base of the party? John McCain may surprisingly pull that off.

That is the ugly scenario GOP voters are looking at right now as Super Tuesday is here.

McCain, boosted by victories in the key primary states of South Carolina and Florida, has attained close to unstoppable momentum, a surge of support, votes and delegates that may once again give him the power to thwart the very group he has let down and stabbed in the back for the past seven years in order to get to this point in time:

Conservative Republicans.

They make up the majority of the base of the Republican Party, yet because of a series of misfortunes and surprises, have once again found themselves run down by the Straight Talk Express. But it is not entirely their fault.

One cannot blame them for the fact that the Senator from Arizona has done nothing but ignore them when it mattered the least, and has tried to cozy up to them when it mattered the most.

A cursory look at who in the Republican Party supports McCain is startling. In every primary state that McCain has been competitive in, he has not won the largest share of votes from self-identified conservative Republicans. Not even once.

Instead, it has been liberal to moderate Republicans carrying the day for him – including using Independents in open primary states like New Hampshire – with conservative Republicans doing one of two
things: split their support among the other numerous candidates in the field, or sit and wait for a "truly Reaganesque" candidate to save the day.

For diehard conservatives, the latter was lost when popular GOP Senators Rick Santorum and George Allen lost their Senate seats in 2006. And the former cost them when they failed to see the beginning of McCain's second rise from the pre-Iowa primary ashes to claim victory in New Hampshire.

We as a party knew how bad McCain was, and yet we waited and divided ourselves, especially when we saw that McCain's campaign was imploding in the late summer to fall.

But nobody can count out McCain. The choice is clear, but the time to stop McCain-- who, outside of National Security issues, has consistently failed the party time and time again to curry favor with the media – has passed the Republican Party by.

Some of us now look towards former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as a last hope to forestall a McCain nomination, but if the polls continue to trend against Romney, Super Tuesday could be the knockout blow.

We're now looking at a GOP electorate concerned about electability rather than who can represent conservative values the best. It's exactly what McCain wanted, for he's about to win the Republican nomination without the heart and soul of the party.

Akeem Mellis is the president of the College Republicans. You can e-mail him at amelli3@pride.hofstra.edu.

Romney declares victory in Maine GOP caucuses

By Samuel Rubenfeld
News Editor

Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) declared victory Saturday night in the lightly contested Republican caucuses in Maine. With 64 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had 52 percent of the vote, with Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) coming in second with 22 percent of the vote, and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) placing third with 19 percent of the vote.

The Maine caucuses awarded no delegates however, the vote was instead nothing more than a preference poll, with voters choosing participants to the state party's nominating convention in May. But the results themselves could represent some momentum for the former Massachusetts governor going into Super Tuesday.

Paul was the only candidate to actively campaign in Maine; Romney sent one of his sons to spend two days in the state during the leadup to the caucuses.

"Today, the people from Maine joined those from across the nation in casting their vote for conservative change in Washington," Romney said in a statement released before 8 p.m., as the results came in. "Tonight, they have made their voice known and have endorsed our conservative vision for a stronger America. Like many Americans, the people of Maine are tired of Washington promises made but broken."

In other campaign news: McCain was declared the official winner of the contested Louisiana caucuses held Jan. 22. The Paul campaign had demanded a recount, due to alleged mistakes in ballot distribution by the Louisiana GOP.

McCain rally in Westbury

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

(All photos by Jacqueline Hlavenka/The Chronicle)