The Chronicle covers Election 2008

Nassau News and The Chronicle live blog Election 2008

2008-11-04T18:18:00.001-05:00

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Chronicle Live-Twitters the last presidential debate

2008-10-15T20:45:00.002-04:00

Follow The Chronicle's live Twitterfeed from inside the media filing center of the University's Physical Fitness Center during the last presidential debate, held in the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

The Chronicle and NassauNews liveblog and streamcast Debate '08

2008-10-15T18:41:00.001-04:00

The University hosts the final presidential debate of the 2008 election cycle. Below are both the live-blog and the streamcast for tonight's debate:

The live-blog:

The streamcast:

New group tells students to 'vote for nobody'

2008-10-15T18:29:00.000-04:00

Amid the shouts and cheers from supporters of both Barack Obama and John McCain, one group decided to take a different approach to voicing their opinions.

Vote for Nobody is a satirical, counter-activism group founded by sophomores Evan Harrison and Matthew Adams that strives to get people to stop shouting at one another, and start discussing using rational thoughts and ideas.

“The louder you shout, the more I think you’re an idiot. Shouting your candidates name out loud won’t change my mind as to who I am voting for,” Harrison said.

Adams added that they want people to break out of their “mob mentality” and have them converse with one another to form educated statements. “The whole process is becoming a spectacle and I don’t feel as though I am presented with enough information to make a decision,” he said.

Both Harrison and Adams held up hand made signs that voiced statements such as, “Vote for Nobody,” “Nobody will keep election promises,” “Nobody cares,” and “Nobody tells the truth.”

When asked about the meaning behind the signs, Harrison said the signs were saying that both candidates won't live up to their hype and they wont really accomplish anything. Adams added that the signs were supposed to act as a catalyst to get people to voice their own activism through intelligent thoughts and discussions with people of opposing parties.

--Taylor Paraboschi

Kenny Mayne requests song for 'Mayne Event'

2008-10-15T16:24:00.002-04:00

ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne requested a group of acoustic musicians play a song about football players losing their helmets for a segment called the "Mayne event."

The segment, which is a fake news item attempting to raise awareness about football helmet safety, will air Sunday at 12:30 p.m., and the song will be in the segment, Mayne said.

Click To Play

Chronicle photographer published in Washington Post, again

2008-10-15T15:16:00.004-04:00

Chronicle Senior Photo Editor Jacqueline Hlavenka was published on the Washington Post's Youth Vote blog for the second time this week.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

VIDEO: PSU pushes for alternative energy sources

2008-10-15T15:04:00.002-04:00

The Progressive Students Union held a demonstration outside the Student Center Wednesday afternoon that emphasized the problems associated with expanded oil drilling, use of nuclear power and clean coal.

Video:

Click To Play

Photos: The MSNBC tent outside the student center

2008-10-15T13:27:00.002-04:00

MSNBC set up its press tent outside the student center for debate night. Here's a glimpse at what's happening over there:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

--All photos by Jaqueline Hlavenka

Democracy comes alive during series of performances

2008-10-15T13:13:00.003-04:00

History came alive last Tuesday and Wednesday as faculty, students and professional actors came together to put on a series of performances depicting monumental figures and events in U.S. History.

Historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas were just some of many historical figures that came alive to discuss and debate their stances on important issues, such as women’s rights, civil rights and the Progressive movement.

George Frein, who portrayed Abraham Lincoln at the event, said the point of the performance was to “help people think about the democracy that they live in.” He added that the performance was also held to better educate and help people understand history by having them “think about it through the minds of historic figures.”

One event depicted a mock slave auction of an escaped slave, Pinky, who was just nine years old at the time. The slave auction was held in the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, where Pastor Henry Ward Beecher won the freedom for a young Sally “Pinky” Diggs at a cost of $900.

After she was granted freedom, Beecher presented her with a ring that was placed in the collection box and said, “With this ring I thee wed you to your freedom.” Pinky later returned to the congregation in 1926 to return the ring and share her successes with the people that made them possible.

Lynn C. Miller, author of The Fool’s Journey and the Death of a Department Chair, said that the overall purpose of the performances was to act as a “teaching process for people.”

“Our job was to introduce a person of value to people. To show that history isn’t this dead thing, and that you can really interact with it. To educate people,” she said.

--Taylor Paraboschi

Brian Lehrer hosts a WNYC debate panel

2008-10-15T12:51:00.004-04:00

WNYC's Brian Lehrer discussed college affordability and the presidential campaign in a two hour radio show taped in Dempster Hall's Studio A with an audience of high school students, University students, faculty and staff on hand.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

--All photos by Erin Furman

Behind the scenes at the University's debate

2008-10-15T12:14:00.001-04:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

--All photos by Jacqueline Hlavenka

Hofstra's College GOP volunteers in New York City

2008-10-15T03:09:00.004-04:00

Ten members of the College Republicans spent the night before the debate in Midtown Manhattan, volunteering for the McCain-Palin campaign at a fundraiser.

Tickets for the fundraiser ranged in price from a minimum of $1,000 to a VIP ticket costing $50,000 that got a donor a private meeting with the Republican nominee.

Sean Nabi, the president of the College Republicans, and Anthony Lucci, president of Students for McCain, each helped out at the Grand Hyatt in Midtown.

"It's remarkable that something like the debate coming to Hofstra gave us the opportunity to meet some of the most influential people in American politics today," Nabi said.

Nabi worked the door with Secret Service, where he met VIPs like Donald Trump and Stephen Baldwin. Both Lucci and Nabi got to hear Cindy McCain, Sarah Palin and John McCain speak to the donors.

While shaking hands on the ropeline, Nabi handed Palin his "Debate '08" pin, and McCain thanked ROTC member Alex McHale for his service.

"I got to shake two of the most important hands in the world tonight because I go to Hofstra," Lucci said.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

PSU marches for the Iraq war dead

2008-10-15T00:46:00.003-04:00

Progressive Students Union, in collaboration with the national groups Activist Response Team and Eyes Wide Open, performed a March of the Dead representing the civilian lives lost during the Iraq War.

Twenty-three volunteers, most of them students, walked from inside the Student Center entrance on North Campus to the front of CV Starr on South Campus embodying individuals and families who were victims of what they refer to as an illegal war. The men, women and children represented were killed in either Iraq, Afghanistan or the United States.

A steady beat boomed throughout the school as they walked single file; each wore all black, a white mask depicting a stoic face and a sign indicating the name, age and occupation of the person they symbolized. While they marched, students and teachers stopped to watch and take photographs, all wondering the purpose of the demonstration.

Although many dismissed the group as simple protesters, some were captivated by their somber and powerful message.

--Emily Cummins

Students learn about youth voting from MTV panel

2008-10-15T00:19:00.003-04:00

A group of 13 students traveled to MTVu's studio Tuesday morning to take part in a panel on youth voting.

Panelists included Diablo Cody, who wrote the film "Juno," film star Rosario Dawson, Hilary Rosen, the political director of The Huffington Post, Luke Russert, a special youth correspondent for NBC News, Alex N. Vogel, a named partner in the firm Mehlman, and Larry Wilmore, an Emmy and Peabody-award winning correspondent for "The Daily Show."

MTVu is the college affiliate of MTV Networks, and they've spent the 2008 presidential campaign focusing on issues facing young voters. The panel presented a study it conducted about how young voters see issues such as race, gender, and experience of the candidates.

After the presentation, the celebrity panelists discussed their impressions of young people today and young voters’ opportunity for profound impact on the nation.

--Caitlyn Gailvary

Neo-Futurist debate a student precursor to big show

2008-10-14T23:48:00.004-04:00

Neo-Futurism is a non-illusionary type of theater that, according to their Web site, doesn't buy into the trend of "suspension of disbelief." The people on stage were not characters in their own world; they are who they say they are and they know they're performing for a live audience.

On the eve of the presidential debate, Hofstra's own participated in a Neo-Futurism performance. It was the culmination of a series of a series of workshops given by Chris Dippel, an adjunt professor in the Drama Department, who is also a founding member of the New York City branch of the Neo-Futurists. The NYC branch is the sister company of the Chicago group, founded in 1988 by Greg Allen.

The topic of their first performance: whether people in the U.S. "would be better served if political campaigns focused more on real issues and less on personal theatrics."

Drama Department students were featured in the University's production, comprised of Kyle Cheng, Louis Aquiler, Chris D'Amato, Keith Pinault and Abigail Strange on the affirmative side; Rich Traub, Jeremy Benson, Dina Massery, Richie Pepio and Alexis Rhiannon on the negative.

Each team delivered an opening statement, a rebuttal, a cross-examination and a closing statement. An audience vote determined the winner. The catch: they're not debating with speeches, they're using short plays.

Benson, on the negative side, said theatricality is important in politics, especially now. "Theatricality is not a bad thing," he said. "You can look at 'Rock the Vote' [as an example of theatricality]…it builds something within young people which makes them get involved. It's important in today's system."

The Neo-Futurists original production, "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind," is still running in both Chicago and New York City. For more information, check out www.nyneofuturists.org or http://www.neofuturists.org/.

--David Gordon

Chronicle photographer published in Washington Post

2008-10-14T23:32:00.004-04:00

Chronicle Senior Photo Editor Jackie Hlavenka was published on the Washington Post's Youth Vote blog for her photos of the stage setup in the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Students receive ticket notices

2008-10-14T23:23:00.003-04:00

Students who got a ticket to the debate found out via e-mail late Tuesday evening.

More than 6,800 students applied for a chance to get in the hall, where Barack Obama and John McCain will debate economic and domestic policy Wednesday night. Only 250 made the first lottery, and 200 more were added in an alternate lottery last Friday.

Sandra Johnson, vice president of Student Affairs, said Tuesday afternoon that the number of tickets issued won't be available until after the debate.

Although the students who were not lucky enough to be chosen still have plenty of ways to be involved with the debate on Wednesday, including interactive displays and buses, those selected realize how fortunate they are. Joanna Little, a freshman who made it all the way through the lottery is looking forward to experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It is an honor to be a part of this monumental event at the University," Little said. "I understand how important this election is and I can’t believe I get to experience a part of it right here on campus.”

Another believes more tickets should have been available. "I'm really excited by the opportunity but I feel as if there are more deserving students out there," said Eryka Sajek, a junior who is a member of Progressive Students Union. "I think it's horrible for such an opportunity to come to a university, but not even open it up to the students who pay to go here. I don't see a point in saving over half the seats for party members.

"The canidates are trying to get our vote, not pledged party members."

--Megan McCloskey and Samuel Rubenfeld

Activist Gloria Steinem speaks at Adams Playhouse

2008-10-14T10:36:00.003-04:00

Activists relived their glory days of the 60s and students put a face to the movement when Gloria Steinem, a longtime social activist, spoke Monday afternoon at the Adams Playhouse.

Steinem commented on how the debate got students “into history and out of classes.”

In her talk, Steinem addressed politics in general, along with the status of social movements and what they should do next. She said labeling does not help the electoral process. "Republicans were the first to introduce the equal rights amendments," Steinem said.

Steinem said that when a social justice movement begins, the people in it are told by critics that it can’t be done and it’s against nature. Now, feminists and other activists are told that their efforts are not necessary anymore, she said.

Steinem felt there was still a lot of work to do before everyone was regarded as individuals and biases were removed. However, she she also said culture is now at a turning point where steps can be made.

She strongly endorsed Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, saying he is a “miraculous candidate who will help make this transition in a positive way.” As for Palin, she said electing her is a step back for feminism.

--Lindsay Christ

Rabinowitz rings NASDAQ opening bell

2008-10-14T09:31:00.004-04:00

University President Stuart Rabinowitz just rang the NASDAQ's opening bell for today's trading, with other University officials and Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murry at his side.

The trading day lasts from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and yesterday the stock market saw its largest single-point gain in history. That rally followed the worst week ever on the stock market, which lost 18 percent of its value last week, and 22 percent of its value over eight trading days.

"At the NASDAQ, that's Hofstra University, site of the third and final presidential debate tomorrow and a major lacrosse tournament next month," said CNBC's anchor as the bell rang.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

PSU: Clean coal as real as 'Santa Claus'

2008-10-14T00:16:00.002-04:00

Protesters dressed as elves handed out pamphlets to students explaining the myths behind clean coal.

“Make fossil fuels extinct,” the Progressive Student Union cheered on Monday as they held a protest against the use of “clean coal”. “Clean Coal is as real as Santa Claus,” they added.

The 40-minute protest held by PSU strove to enlighten students about the harmful effects of “clean coal.”

“Clean coal is dirty, both in the mining of it and in the burning of it,” said Laura Comer, a junior who is president of Students for a Greener Hofstra. Comer also said they want to educate people so they aren’t susceptible to illusions about coal being clean.

As for a safer, greener alternative? “We need to look towards safer, renewable energies such as wind and solar power. These types of energies are not only renewable, but are safe, and wont destroy the environment.” Comer said.

Along with protesting for a greener environment, the PSU also urged young people to vote through the organization Power Vote, an organization striving towards getting one million young people to not only vote in the upcoming election, but to make a greener earth their principal reason for voting.

“Hopefully the power vote will show the candidates that we are serious about this and it will make them look at smarter, safer alternatives," Comer said.

A non-political political battleground

2008-10-13T23:42:00.003-04:00

Students donned red and blue shirts on Sunday for a “Battle of the Parties” held in the Recreational Center on North Campus. It was the first time since the formation of Educate ’08 last spring that a political event on campus did not actually involve politics.

At the contest, Democrats were far outnumbered by Republicans, but that didn't seem to bother them much.

“The Democrats are too busy working to participate in such things,” said Robin Doublebower, the president of the College Democrats. “I’m glad the Republicans have nothing better to do.”

The "battle of the parties" included an assortment of athletic events. Participants first served volleyballs over a net in an effort to hit a variety of prizes on the floor, including “soda” bottle holders, t-shirts, bags and coffee holders. Next, the teams competed over who could score the most lay-ups after placing their forehead on a bat and spinning around it five times. The Republicans won that one. Then came the tug-of-war, won by the Democrats. The GOP won ping-pong spoon relay; the Democrats took the timed free-throw competition, tying the competition at two victories apiece.

After a break during which all interested participants could win individual prizes using Frisbees instead of volleyballs, Republicans won the overall two-hour tournament in a heated game of dodgeball.

With the focus of Sunday’s event on good old-fashioned fun and friendly competition, the politics of the upcoming debate, and the election, were put on hold. There was no campaigning during the tournament, no speakers to talk about the issues. Aside from the red, white and blue balloons, and the participants' t-shirts, there was not even a remote hint that the games were scheduled due to politics.

--Erin Furman

PSU blockades Student Center for hunger strike

2008-10-13T20:37:00.003-04:00

In an attempt to raise student awareness of poverty issues, the Progressive Students Union (PSU) and with the One Campaign, performed a 92-second blockade in the Mack Student Center dining hall Monday to symbolize the 923 million hungry people in the world.

“We chose the Student Center because it’s the main dining location, but also because many people have to walk through here, too,” said Anna Rawlins, a junior who is a member of PSU. “It’s a heavily concentrated area.”

Despite lasting for less than two minutes, Rawlins said the length of 92 seconds was chosen as a ratio to the worldwide hunger statistic.

“I was actually approached by people who said ‘Wow, I never realized that,’” she said. “Some people really listened to the whole speech.”

The actual blockade was formed at both of the main entrances to the eatery and cafeteria area, while a banner was dropped from the upper level of the student center. According to Isabelle Goodman, a junior who is president of PSU, Lackmann services even agreed to refuse serving food during the 92-second barrier.

“Lackmann, Student Affairs and Public Safety were all really supportive of our efforts and actions,” Goodman said.

--Chrissy Smith

Issues debated amid music festival

2008-10-13T19:33:00.005-04:00

During a free Jason Mraz concert on Saturday afternoon at the Intramural Fields, where he endorsed decriminalization of marijuana, ending all wars, eliminating handguns and calling for the U.S. to break its oil addiction, clubs with a political bent spent time lobbying students.

The Progressive Students Union, along with Students for a Greener Hofstra, planned six days worth of activism and protests during a Youth Issues Convention. They debuted green hardhats symbolizing green-collar jobs and had a graduate student dressed as Santa Claus decrying clean coal in the issues tent on Saturday.

"They talk about the economy, they talk about the war, they talk about the environment but they fail to see how they all connect," said Laura Comer, a junior who is president of Students for a Greener Hofstra. "Saturday was a push for us to inform the student body about the issues before the media gets here and asks questions."

Republicans tried to get out the University's Republican vote.

"We added about 10 more members to our roster," said Anthony Lucci, the treasurer of the College Republicans who is also president of "Students for John McCain."

"The point was to get our voice heard on a liberal campus, and to show there is a conservative side to Hofstra," he added.

The College Democrats gave students a "political quiz" so they could find out whether they were in fact Democrats or Republicans, and signed students up for a canvassing trip the club is taking to Pennsylvania in November.

"We registered 11 people for our club," said Robin Doublebower, the president of the College Democrats. "We got some good exposure. We were happy to be there to participate in the Jason Mraz concert because he holds ideals consistent to ours."

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Liveblog: The Town Hall Debate

2008-10-07T20:40:00.001-04:00

The live blog of the second presidential debate, held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. is a town hall-style debate where voters will ask the candidates questions:

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Liveblog: The Vice Presidential Debate

2008-10-02T20:35:00.000-04:00

The Chronicle liveblogs the one debate between the vice presidential nominees, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), held at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Panel previews Vice Presidential Debate

2008-10-02T20:01:00.000-04:00

The University hosted a second DebateWatch event Thursday night for the debate between vice presidential nominees Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska).

The event began with a panel of University political science professors, each speaking about what the candidates should be doing during the debate and what to look for.

The panelists included Leslie Feldman, professor of political science, Matt Sobnosky, graduate coordinator for the School of Communication and Stefanie Nanes, assistant professor of political science.

Professor Feldman spoke first about what the nominees should do so as not to embarrass themselves and gave her opinion as to why John McCain chose Palin.

"McCain is considered to be a liberal republican, that's why many conservatives don't like him. That's why he picked Sarah Palin; she's super conservative--she's madam conservative," Feldman said. She then said someone else on the shortlist, former New York State governor George Pataki, was too liberal for McCain to have chosen him because McCain had to pick a conservative to placate his party's base.

Nanes said that Biden "tends to blurt stuff out" adding that "he takes a good point and just runs it into the ground."

The panel ended after one question from an audience member, just in time for the viewing of the Vice Presidential Debate.

--Tejal Patel

Liveblog of the first Presidential Debate

2008-09-26T20:30:00.002-04:00

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Twitter the First Presidential Debate

2008-09-26T19:31:00.000-04:00

Follow all the debate- and election-related posts on social-networking site Twitter here: Election.Twitter.com

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Politics in The Chronicle's latest issue

2008-09-11T22:11:00.001-04:00

Log onto Hofstrachronicle.com to see the latest coverage of the 2008 presidential election from The Chronicle.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

Obama And McCain Discuss National Service At Columbia

2008-09-11T22:04:00.004-04:00

By Mike Manzoni
STAFF WRITER

John McCain and Barack Obama met for the first time onstage as formal nominees of their respective parties between back-to-back discussions at a forum on national service held at Columbia University coinciding with the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11.

The candidates appeared separately, meeting only briefly after Obama's introduction following McCain's question-and-answer session with journalists Judy Woodruff and Richard Stengel. Obama and McCain each answered questions for about 45 minutes.

The appearance marked the second time today the two candidates appeared together. They first appeared side-by-side at a ceremony at Ground Zero in Manhattan this morning to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The candidates gathered specifically to addresses two issues: civic engagement and national service.

McCain said he plans to expand volunteer organizations, but noted that the government does not necessarily have to be involved.

"Let's not have government do things that the private sector can do," McCain said, repeating his theory on government activism. "Volunteering starts at the grass roots level, not necessarily at the federal level."

McCain said it has not been his experience that rich people do the most volunteer work.

He stopped, saying "with all due respect to rich people," in a moment that drew light chuckles from the crowd.

Obama pledged to make community service opportunities available to high school and college students – he added the key was to "start early."

Asked if he might have to curtail his ambitious national service plan once in office - as President Bill Clinton had to - because of unions, he said no.

"The spirit of unions is coming together," Obama said, "because we are stronger together than we are individually."

The Chronicle covers the conventions

2008-08-21T23:19:00.001-04:00

The Chronicle will be in Denver to cover the Democratic National Convention and in St. Paul, Minn., to cover the Republican National Convention. See it all here.

Obama nearly forgets unity request

2008-07-10T17:41:00.001-04:00

By Samuel Rubenfeld
Senior News Editor

NEW YORK—At a fundraiser, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) almost forgot to ask his donors for money.

The appearance Wednesday night in a ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel was intended to ease tensions between supporters of his and those of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) by emphasizing unity and requesting his donors to help retire her debt. Clinton herself was supposed to appear at the fundraiser as well, but she had to back out due to votes at the Senate, said Jen Psaki, the traveling press secretary for the Obama campaign.

But the request hadn’t come during a 32-minute stump speech to about 1,000 supporters, who paid at least $1,000 to attend the event. Obama walked off stage to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed and Delivered,” and reporters at the back of the ballroom began asking staffers questions about why no request was made, and whether one would be made at another time.
Realizing his mistake, Obama rushed back to the microphone about a minute later, saying “Hold on a second guys, I was getting all carried away!”

Then he made the pitch: Obama asked the donors to look underneath their seats for an envelope and to “put something in it.”

“It’s something that is very important to us, and obviously, Sen. Clinton would be grateful as well,” he added.

Obama supporters have balked at aiding Clinton, with a report in the New York Times quoting Clinton campaign officials saying they have received less than $100,000 since early June, when Obama claimed the nomination. The article gave many reasons for the lack of enthusiasm in retiring Clinton’s debt, including many supporters’ believing Clinton racked up the bulk of the debt after she had mathematically lost the nomination and that they did not want to pay off one of her chief vendors, Mark Penn, “a reviled figure in the Obama camp.”

Campaign supporters outside the hotel thought it was not a big deal, he just simply forgot and corrected his mistake as soon as he realized it. “If you did all the things he did today, you’d probably forget too,” said Audrey Goldberg, 73, from Manhattan.

Asked why Obama initially forgot to ask for the money, Psaki said: “That was an important part of the event. He asked for his supporters to contribute, and will continue to do so. I have nothing to add to that.”

Clinton and Obama appeared together later in the evening at a $33,100-a-plate dinner for 125 supporters at the Loews Regency Hotel, raising $4.1 million for his campaign, according to a press pool report.

McCain Addresses Supporters in Town Hall on Wall Street

2008-06-20T17:34:00.002-04:00

Senior News Editor Samuel Rubenfeld covers the June 12 McCain town hall meeting on Wall Street.

For the full story: http://media.www.hofstrachronicle.com/media/storage/paper222/news/2008/06/20/News/Mccain.Addresses.Supporters.In.Town.Hall.On.Wall.Street-3388563.shtml

Report: Clinton to suspend campaign, endorse Obama Friday

2008-06-04T20:45:00.002-04:00

The New York Times reported on its Web site that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will suspend her presidential campaign and endorse her rival, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at an event on Friday, possibly in New York City.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

In final rally, Clinton does not concede

2008-06-04T20:00:00.002-04:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) speaks to supporters in Midtown Manhattan on the final night of the Democratic primary season. (Video provided by MSNBC.com.)

By Samuel Rubenfeld
Senior News Editor

NEW YORK--After all 57 nominating contests, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) clinched the Democratic party's nomination for president by claiming the majority of delegates and declared victory in front of nearly 20,000 people in Minnesota, but at Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) event in the basement gym at Baruch College in the Park Avenue South area of Manhattan, she delivered a speech more defiant than mollifying.

Clinton was introduced by chief campaign strategist Terry McCauliffe, who said she was going to be "the next president of the United States," despite the torrent of delegates that endorsed Obama earlier in the day. (Obama began Tuesday needing 40 delegates to get the nomination, and before the polls closed in South Dakota, he only needed four.)

"This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight," she said to several hundred supporters here following the projection of a surprise win in the South Dakota primary.

She did not recognize Obama's delegate victory, but did his overall accomplishments: "It has been an honor to contest the primaries with him," Clinton said.

Addressing the question of what she now wants, Clinton said, "I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and no longer be invisible."

Her supporters at the rally were just as defiant. "I hope she goes all the way," said Leslie Flug of Brooklyn. "No one else deserves it."

CNN: OBAMA WINS NOMINATION

2008-06-03T21:00:00.001-04:00

As the polls closed in South Dakota, CNN reports Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as the Democratic nominee for president. They did not make a projection for the primary in South Dakota, but CNN did say he will gain at least the minimum required for the 2,118 delegate majority.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

4 to go, no one notices

2008-06-03T20:33:00.002-04:00

South Dakota polls close in 25 minutes and Obama is four shy of the nomination, but none of the Clinton supporters in the basement gym at Baruch College seem all too concerned.

Chants of "Hillary--President" came from the bleachers in the hastily put-together event.

"I've been waiting all my life for a woman president," said Annette Miller, 74, from New York.

Another supporter said she will not concede, but will continue all the way to Denver. "We're going all the way, baby!" said Charles Rosen, 40, from Montclair, N.J.

--Samuel Rubenfeld

CNN: 6 to go

2008-06-03T19:42:00.000-04:00

CNN reports Obama six delegates shy. "This does not include the pledged delegates up for grabs tonight," said anchor Lou Dobbs.

CNN: 7 to go

2008-06-03T19:29:00.001-04:00

CNN reports that Obama needs seven delegates to reach the magic number of 2,118 delegates, which would clinch the nomination.

Chronicle at the Clinton rally

2008-06-03T19:10:00.001-04:00

The Chronicle is at the Clinton primary night rally in Manhattan, and will be reporting live, as it unfolds. (There will be no original photography nor video, however.)

THE RECAP:The last 96 hours

2008-06-03T18:03:00.011-04:00

By Samuel Rubenfeld
Senior News Editor

NEW YORK--Heading into the final weekend of the long-running Democratic presidential primary season, the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) had at least something to be hopeful about: the restoration of the delegates from Florida and Michigan, an expected landslide in Puerto Rico and possibly, just possibly, a stumble by her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), to thrust her into victory.

Oh, what a torrid weekend and primary finale it has been.

First came the fights over delegates and votes from Michigan and Florida: both states' delegates were barred from the convention due to holding primaries too early. The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee held its meeting in a Washington hotel on Saturday to settle the matter, resulting in a compromise deal where each states' delegates get a seat, but can only count for half a vote.

Michigan was especially controversial because Obama was not on the ballot there, but he was awarded all of the votes estimated to have gone to him based on exit polls, which gave him four more delegates than the Clinton campaign thought he deserved.

Clinton supporters were fuming, with loud chants of "Denver! Denver! Denver!" coming from the gallery. Harold Ickes, a chief Clinton adviser who himself serves on that committee, said Clinton "instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the credentials committee," implying that the showdown over Michigan and Florida delegates would go all the way to the national convention in Denver in late August.

The decisions also changed the number of delegates required to claim a majority and the presumptive nomination to 2,118, and Obama was within 60 delegates of the required amount, based on multiple delegate estimates.

Clinton's only recourse was now claiming a popular vote majority, which the campaign began doing by counting the votes from Florida and Michigan, but not counting votes from caucus states such as Iowa and Maine that do not give official vote tallies. The Obama campaign countered, saying they held the popular vote lead.

She needed a huge turnout and a large win in the Puerto Rico primary the next day, Sunday. Clinton got the victory, which she received by a nearly two-to-one majority, but the turnout was lower than Clinton needed. And the superdelegates were not going her way.

Obama acted throughout like the general election nominee; he was quoted by Monday's New York Times calling a rally in South Dakota "a good way to end my campaign in the primary phase." Each day saw the announcement of more superdelegate endorsements, putting him closer to the nomination.

Monday was what was hinted as the beginning of the end for the Clinton campaign. Newsday reported that she was hosting a private meeting at her home in Chappaqua, New York, for high-level aides, where she would decide the future of her campaign. Politico.com added that aides were told she would host her last primary night event in Midtown Manhattan and that their roles on the campaign were ending.

Bill Clinton, who was a thorn in Hillary's side at moments during the campaign, may have hinted at the looming endgame: "I want to say also, that this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," he said at a town hall meeting on Monday in Milbank, South Dakota.

Tuesday is the final day of the primary season, and it is shaping up to be a major one for Obama. Montana and South Dakota held their primaries, with the polls closing at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. EDT respectively. But as previously posted, the Associated Press reported at 1:30 p.m. EDT in an alert that Obama was "effectively" the presidential nominee, counting both public and private commitments to the campaign.

The superdelegates came in droves, with liberal blog TalkingPointsMemo.com reporting 19.5 of them endorsing Obama as of 5:36 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday alone.

CNN, as of 7 p.m., reported that Obama needs only 10 delegates to clinch the nomination. As the results come in, we will bring them to you.

AP: Clinton open to being VP

2008-06-03T15:31:00.001-04:00

Hillary Rodham Clinton told New York lawmakers that she is open to being Barack Obama's vice presidential candidate, according to the Associated Press.

AP: Obama clinches nomination

2008-06-03T13:30:00.000-04:00

The Associated Press reports Obama effectively clinches the Democratic nomination, based on assured delegates in the last primaries.

Clinton to win Puerto Rico

2008-06-01T14:55:00.004-04:00

CNN projects Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) as victor in Puerto Rico primary by a wide margin on Sunday, based on its "exclusive" exit poll data there.

Obama nets wins in Oregon and pledged delegate count

2008-05-20T23:42:00.007-04:00

By Kimberly Chin
Assistant News Editor

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) had coasted two wins for the night: Oregon's primary, news sources projected, and a majority of the pledged delegates of the nomination. Obama had 51 delegates up for grabs from Kentucky, but Clinton won the state with a more than 30 point lead.

Before Tuesday, Obama needed only 17 delegates to gain the majority, according to The Associated Press.

David Axelrod, Obama's lead campaign strategist, called Obama's pledged delegate majority gain an "important milestone" in the campaign and in the path leading to the Democratic nomination.

The polls in Oregon closed at 11 p.m. EST, and it was projected that Obama won the Beaver state by a slim margin. At 65 percent of precincts reporting, the trend in the polls had kept a steady distance from about 58 percent for Obama and 41 percent for Clinton.

Although Obama leads Clinton in pledged and superdelegates, states won and the popular vote, he did not dismiss her during a speech on Tuesday.

“No matter how this primary ends," Obama said, "Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and your daughters will come of age.”

Clinton's chances for winning the nomination are slim and it would take a share of about 800 superdelegates to get the edge needed to beat Obama, according to CNN.

Also the claim by her campaign that she has the most popular votes can fall out, if the Democratic National Committee chooses not to count Florida and Michigan, two states who went against the rules of the committee and lost their delegates as a result. Clinton's lead in the popular vote count would also exclude caucus votes, which Obama has fared well in.

“From the very beginning, you knew that this journey wasn’t about me or any of the other candidates in this race,” Obama told supporters on Tuesday when he returned to Iowa, the first in the nation caucus state that he had won of his presidential nomination campaign.

“It’s about whether this country — at this defining moment — will continue down the same road that has failed us for so long or whether we will seize this opportunity to take a different path: to forge a different future for the country we love.”

Clinton wins Kentucky while Obama secures majority

2008-05-20T23:23:00.002-04:00

Obama declares pledged delegate majority in his speech to supporters in Des Moines, Iowa.
(Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Kimberly Chin
Assistant News Editor

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) decisively won the Kentucky primary, with a lopsided lead over her rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), although it was not enough to block Obama from picking up a majority of the Democratic Party’s pledged delegates, which could be telling of the eventual nominee.

The Associated Press reported that Obama only needs 17 delegates coming out of Tuesday’s primaries, which he easily carried, despite Clinton’s victory of 65 percent compared to Obama’s 29 percent in the southern state.

"To say that we have the majority of the core of the delegates that are going to be making the decisions at the convention and selecting our nominee, that's a critical milestone," former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle said, who is also an Obama campaign co-chairman.

Although it is highly unlikely that Clinton will be able to capture the delegates, she is betting on winning the popular vote, an aspect of the nomination process that her campaign has claimed to lead.

“This is one of the closest races for a party’s nomination in modern history,” Clinton told her supporters, after many networks called her victory early in the night. “We’re winning the popular vote, and I’m more determined than ever to see that every vote is cast and every ballot is counted.”

Clinton’s victory in the Blue Grass state signifies a continual battle, which for the past few months has led media critics and even members of her own party to ask her to step down for the sake of a unified party come the general election in November. Ignoring the calls, Clinton has been able to pick up three more states in the last week, which includes Kentucky.

She holds most of the crucial "big" Democratic-leaning states needed to win in the Fall.

Obama addressed his supporters in Iowa, one of the crucial early states he had won, as the results came in from Kentucky.

“Senator Clinton has run a magnificent race, and she is still working hard, as am I, for all of these last primary contests,” Obama said, acknowledging that he has not “presumptuously” claimed the nomination yet, as Clinton staffers contend, and is expecting to continue the struggle with Clinton until the end of the race in June.

"Right now, more people have voted for me than have voted for my opponent," Clinton said. "More people have voted for me than for anybody ever running for president before. So we have a very close contest."

Primary polls are still open in Oregon, which has a unique mail-in primary. The results will come in later in this evening.

Former rival John Edwards endorses Obama

2008-05-15T00:18:00.004-04:00

Former presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at a rally in Michigan, after saying for months he would not choose a candidate. (Video courtesy Youtube.com.)

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

In the months after withdrawing his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, John Edwards said he was keeping his pick for his party's presidential candidate to himself, but at a campaign rally Wednesday in Grand Rapids, MI, that all changed when Edwards stepped on stage with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), and offered his endorsement.

"The reason I'm here tonight is because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I," Edwards told the crowd. "There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two ... and that man is Barack Obama."

He also congratulated Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) campaign for the nomination.

"What she has shown ... is strength and character, and what drives her is something that every single one of us can and should appreciate," Edwards said.

"She is a woman who, in my judgment, is made of steel, and she's a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done."

Obama spoke at the event, thanking Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth.

"I am so grateful ... for John Edwards to come to Michigan tonight," he sad. "I'm grateful for his support ... but more importantly, I want to thank John for everything that he has already done to make us one America," Obama said.

The late endorsement immediately caused the chairman of the Republican National Committee to question the effectiveness of the endorsement.

Republican National Committee Chairman Robert Duncan released a statement asking, "Why didn't Edwards endorse sooner?"

After coming in third place in most early contests, Edwards withdrew from the race on Jan. 30.

Clinton wins big in W.Va., vows to 'carry on'

2008-05-13T21:35:00.003-04:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) declares victory in West Virginia. (Video provided by MSNBC.com.)

By Samuel Rubenfeld
Senior News Editor

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) won the West Virginia party by a wide margin, holding a more than two-to-one lead with 54 percent of precincts reporting, by winning white and lower-income voters who have eluded Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at times during the primary season.

Ninety-five percent of voters were white, according to exit polls. Twenty-two percent of voters said race was an important factor, and 81 percent of those voters came to the polls for Clinton.

Clinton's win nets her 10 delegates, according to NBC News, but the win does not greatly blunt Obama's momentum for the Democratic nomination, because he still holds a significant lead in states won, pledged delegates, popular vote and superdelegates.

The victory could, however, raise questions about Obama's ability to win the support of white, working-class voters, a potential weak spot the Clinton campaign has stressed recently.

“I’m more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has the chance to make their voices heard,” Clinton said at a victory rally in Charleston, W.Va.

She said she will carry on her campaign through June 3, when South Dakota holds the final primary in the Democratic nominating contests.

Obama conceded late Tuesday afternoon at a campaign event in Missouri, where he said he still had work to do to earn the nomination.

"We haven’t resolved this nomination," he said. "It would be presumptuous of me to pretend like I’ve already won and start talking about who my vice president’s going to be."

Clinton wins W.Va. by wide margin

2008-05-13T19:30:00.004-04:00

By Samuel Rubenfeld
Senior News Editor

The Associated Press calls Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) the winner by a two-to-one margin based on exits as the polls close in West Virginia. Details as the votes come in.

Obama wins big in N.C.; Clinton squeaks by in Ind.

2008-05-07T20:24:00.003-04:00

By Samuel Rubenfeld

News Editor

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won handily in the North Carolina primary on Tuesday, defeating Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) by 14 points and negating Clinton's win in Pennsylvania on April 22.

The trajectory of the campaign changed with Obama's huge win: despite Clinton's squeaker victory in Indiana, where she won by less than 22,000 votes on Tuesday, pundits on all three cable networks called the race "over."

"I have not found an objective Democrat who thinks the race isn't over," said Tim Russert, the NBC News Washington bureau chief on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show.

More details to come in The Chronicle print edition, out tomorrow. (Link to come when posted.)

Obama wins Guam caucuses by seven votes

2008-05-04T13:44:00.002-04:00

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won the Guam caucuses, declaring victory with the thinnest margin of any primary this election year.

Obama led Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) by just seven votes when the results were announced tonight.

Of the 175,000 residents of the island in the Western Pacific, about 4,500 voted.

Obama received 2,264 votes, whereas Clinton received 2,257 votes, with all 21 precincts reporting.

Guam has traditionally been ignored by candidates, but as both Clinton and Obama continue to duel for the nomination, they did not take any chances.

Neither of the Democratic candidates made any campaign appearances in the territory, but did run advertisements and appeared for interviews via satellite on local television stations.

Clinton and Obama also pitched their health care plans for Guam in long-distance interviews.

Clinton has called for Guamanians to be able to vote in the presidential election.

The New York senator has said she will appoint a senior adviser to the defense secretary to help Guamanians prepare for the arrival of 8,000 U.S. Marines who are expected to be transferred to the island from Okinawa in 2014.

Obama, in interviews prior to the vote, said his Hawaiian heritage makes him "especially sensitive," to the concerns and problems facing islanders.

Citizens of the U.S. territory are not able to vote in the general election in November, but have four pledged delegates and five superdelegates which will be sent to the National Convention in Denver in August.

Clinton wins Pennsylvania, vows to fight on

2008-04-23T00:28:00.003-04:00

Hillary Clinton delivers her victory speech in Philadelphia after winning the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday night, after six weeks of campaigning in the state. (Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) won the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday night, after a six-week stretch between contests, claiming a state she had designated earlier in the day as one she had to win.

"It's a long road to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and it runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania," she told a crowd of supporters at a victory speech in Philadelphia.

While her campaign says her victory questions Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) electability in the general election, she offered some comparison between the two competing Democratic camps.

Clinton said she and Obama are "on this journey together," while she was joined on stage with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and her husband, President Bill Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea.

Exit polls indicate she received support of voters age 65 and older and that Obama garnered the votes of the black electorate with nearly 92 percent of the African-American vote.

A majority of white males, 55 percent according to a CNN exit poll, voted for Clinton.

Knowing the demographics were not in his favor, Obama moved his campaign to Indiana early today, a state that holds its primary May 6.

"A win is 50 plus one. So, if Sen. Clinton gets over 50 percent, she's won the state and, you know, I don't try to pretend that I enjoy getting 45 percent and that's a moral victory -- we've lost the state," Obama said before leaving Pennsylvania for Indiana.

Obama still leads the delegate count with 1,720 to Clinton's 1,588, according to Associated Press estimates.

Her victory in the Keystone State will allow her to receive most of the state's 158 delegates.

According to Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes, voter turnout was a record, with between 50 and 60 percent turnouts in some counties.

About four million people are registered to vote in Pennsylvania.

Obama wins Mississippi

2008-03-11T22:12:00.002-04:00

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has won the Mississippi primary, beating Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in a primary which exit polls indicate was the most racially divided contest yet.
Exit polls show blacks favoring Obama – overwhelmingly, at more than 90 percent – while nearly three quarters of white voters went for Clinton.

The Associated Press reported that only two other state contests this year were as racially divisive, Alabama and Arkansas, the latter being a former home state for Clinton, when President Bill Clinton served in the Governor's office.

Obama's win in what is considered one of the most conservative southern states during the general election comes as the announcement of Obama's victory in the caucus portion of the Texas "prima-caucus," which was held March 4.

Clinton won the state's primary, but because of the caucus, Obama will actually score more delegates than her.

Low to moderate voter turnout was reported by the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, with approximately 125,000 to 150,000 going to the polls.

The state has 33 delegates going to the convention in August.

Spitzer linked to prostitution ring

2008-03-10T22:05:00.003-04:00

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

Federal investigators have linked New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to a high-priced prostitution ring in the nation's capital, The New York Times reported Monday afternoon.

The 47-page affidavit from a prostitution bust last Thursday refers to a "Client 9," who, according to two anonymous sources close to the probe, is the name used by the prostitution ring for Eliot Spitzer.

The affidavit did not mention Spitzer by name, but sources close to the investigation say he paid prostitutes as much as $4,300 at a trendy Washington hotel last month to have sex with him.

In a press conference delivered an hour after the news broke on The New York Times Web site, Spitzer was apologetic, but he did not directly admit guilt.

"I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong," Spitzer said, appearing with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. "I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better."

At the press conference, Spitzer took no questions, walking offstage to reporters shouting "Are you resigning?"

The incident allegedly occurred on the evening of Feb. 13, the night before Valentine's Day, when room 871 was booked under the name George Fox, a pseudonym that federal investigators say was used by "Client 9" on previous stays.

The visit came after a cash deposit was made with the Emperor's Club, an online prostitution ring, who sent one of their prostitutes, Kristen, to the room.

The prostitute, Kristen, identified as a young, brunette, allegedly visited "Client 9," at the Mayflower, an upscale Washington hotel, after taking a trip on the Amtrak train from New York City.

Kristen was dispatched to the hotel after Temeka Rachelle Lewis, the ring's booking agent, sent a text message to Kristen, reading: "If D.C. appt. happens u will need 2 leave NYC @ 4:45 p.m."

The affidavit shows that "Client 9," also agreed to cover all of the expenses of Kristen's travel on an Amtrak from New York City to Washington.

Spitzer is a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. The Clinton campaign press office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Chronicle.

Spitzer is married, with three children.

Obama wins Wyoming caucuses

2008-03-08T22:13:00.004-05:00

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won the Wyoming caucus earlier today, making it his second win in the last week.

Obama beat rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) 61 percent to 38 percent, with 100 percent precincts reporting.

The two Democratic contenders are separated by only 100 delegates, according to The Associated Press estimates, with little more than 600 left to score as they look toward a crucial primary in Pennsylvania next month.

Early estimates show that he will score at least seven delegates compared to Clinton's four, with one outstanding and six superdelegates up for grabs, according to CNN.

Earlier in the day Obama campaigned across the state.

"I will bring this war to an end in 2009, so don't be confused ... when Senator Clinton is not willing to acknowledge that she voted for war," he said. "I don't want to play politics on this issue, because she doesn't have standing to question my position on this issue," he said at a rally in Casper.

Wyoming Governor David Freudenthal did not endorse either candidate because he said they have not addressed the environmental and energy concerns his state faces.

But both candidates went in to the contest with some support from the state.

Former Gov. Mike Sullivan endorsed Clinton, while Obama had backing from the state's Democratic Party Chairman John Millin.

It's Showtime for McCain

2008-03-06T20:40:00.003-05:00

By Akeem Mellis

Well, it is now official for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). After overcoming many obstacles, including defeating fellow candidates that at one time had a significant lead over him, and being left for dead only just five months ago, the Arizona senator has clinched the GOP nomination.

The only relatively good GOP candidate left in the race, he ended what had looked like to be a long nominating process for Republicans. Congratulations to him. But while McCain has put away a populist Republican in Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, he'll now have to confront putting away one of two populists in disguise over the next eight months.

With one dream achieved, McCain must now prepare himself for the toughest and possibly most frustrating race of his life against either Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) or Barack Obama (D-Ill.). For him to now win the White House, he must mitigate two problems.

First is the obvious reality that conservatives – who were split in their presidential preferences, helping give McCain the nomination – are still ambivalent about his candidacy.

Second is the way he’ll have to mitigate the looming onslaught by his opponents that he would be an “extension” of George W. Bush – a claim that, upon further inspection on certain issues, couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Tie that with how to properly articulate a message that can keep Republicans and Independents together for him and it’s a hefty climb.

But McCain has nearly eight months to do all of this. A now significantly prolonged battle for the Democratic nomination will greatly help him. Already, he has started to speak the message he will deliver throughout the summer and fall of this year.

If John McCain can ride a nearly dead campaign to the nomination, surely he can beat the odds in November. It’s time for Senator McCain to put on another comeback performance.

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

McCain wins Republican nomination

2008-03-05T00:53:00.005-05:00

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) captures the Republican nomination by reaching the necessary delegate count, according to The Associated Press. (Video provided by MSNBC.com.)

By Michelle Westgate
Staff Writer

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) claimed victory Tuesday after reaching the necessary 1,191 delegates to guarantee the Republican Party nomination for president. In Texas, Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) formally stepped out of the race after losing all four states during tonight’s primaries.

Primary races in Vermont, Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas have earned McCain a total number of 208 delegates Tuesday. This, according to estimates by The Associated Press, will secure the 1191 delegates necessary to win the party nomination.

“The contest begins tonight,” McCain said in a victory speech given to a room full of cheering supporters. He vowed to fight for a capable, wise, brave, and decent government. “That is our responsibility and I will not let you down,” he said.

Huckabee acknowledged that McCain would receive the presidential nomination for the Republican Party. “I extended to him not only my congratulations, but my commitment to him,” he said.

Huckabee expressed the importance of bringing the party together, supporting the presidential candidate, and working to maintain the party principles.

“Until our country is all that we hope and pray it to be, we won’t be able to walk away completely,” Huckabee said.

McCain described a group of people who control the future and write history. “That is the essence of hope in America,” McCain said. “Hope built on courage, and faith in the values and principles that have made us great.”

President Bush will officially endorse McCain tomorrow afternoon at a press conference at the White House, according to a statement.

At the University tonight, students gathered in the Mack student center to watch the results of the primaries. Several students were not surprised by the McCain victory, but many did not believe they would support him in the upcoming presidential election.

“I’m not going to vote for a republican just because I am a Republican,” said Greg Evangelista, a senior political science major. “There are a lot of people who will do that,” he said.

Evangelista does not plan on supporting McCain in the upcoming November election.

Clinton wins Ohio, Rhode Island; Obama takes Vermont

2008-03-05T00:34:00.005-05:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton "comes back" to win in Ohio and Rhode Island. (Video provided by MSNBC.com.)

By Mike Manzoni

Staff Writer

Looking toward a set of primaries outnumbered in pledged delegates and momentum, she aired an ad widely considered an attack on the national security credentials of her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

And it may have worked.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY.) won the Ohio primary, surprising Obama in a race some thought would make him the party's presumptive nominee.

"For everyone in Ohio and America who has been counted out but refused to be knocked out…this one is for you," Clinton said, addressing a crowd of supporters in Columbus, Ohio.

"It's [Ohio] a state that knows how to pick a president," she said, "as Ohio goes, so goes the nation."

She added that no president in recent history has won the nomination without winning the Ohio primary.

Clinton also picked up a victory in Rhode Island. Obama won Vermont, and Texas, with 69 percent of precincts reporting, still was too close to call, according to The Associated Press.

"We are turning this page and we are ready to write the next great story in American history," Obama said at rally in San Antonio, Tex.

Congratulating Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for winning the Republican nomination Tuesday night, Obama, in the same sentence, contested his policies and welcomed a debate: "He has fallen in line behind the very same policies that have ill-served America."

The divisive night of primaries and caucuses followed a week of campaigning in which Clinton aired an ad – now known as the "3 a.m. ad" – which questioned viewers who they would want answering the White House phone at 3 a.m., should a problem arise immediately warranting presidential action.

The Clinton camp also questioned a memo obtained by The Associated Press that outlined a meeting between Obama's economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, and a representative of the Canadian government at the Canadian consulate in Chicago.

The memo detailed a meeting in which Goolsbee told the Canadian representative to take Obama's comments against free trade as "more of a political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."

Last week, Obama denied that the meeting ever took place, but early this week admitted he knew of the meeting, but insisted Goolsbee did not represent his views.

Nader enters the race

2008-02-24T15:23:00.003-05:00

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

2008-02-22T03:26:00.004-05:00

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

2008-02-20T11:05:00.006-05:00

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

2008-02-20T00:48:00.001-05:00

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

2008-02-20T00:28:00.001-05:00

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

2008-02-14T00:26:00.004-05:00

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

2008-02-07T22:06:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-07T21:59:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-07T13:22:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-06T02:09:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-06T01:46:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-05T19:15:00.000-05:00

Elections inspector drops some 'hints'

2008-02-05T18:58:00.000-05:00

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'

2008-02-05T18:55:00.001-05:00

"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

2008-02-05T00:35:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-05T00:26:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-02T20:09:00.001-05:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

(All photos by Jacqueline Hlavenka/The Chronicle)

Presidential Primaries 101

2008-01-31T20:06:00.000-05:00

NBC Nightly News explains how complicated the process will be when 24 states will be voting on Super Tuesday:

(Video provided by Nightly.MSNBC.com)

Edwards drops out

2008-01-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) is dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination. His platform was populist in nature, and he decried the pressures on the middle class. But his consistent third-place finishes in Democratic primaries and caucuses led to the end of his candidacy.

UPDATE: Sen. Obama released a statement on Edwards' departure:

CHICAGO, IL - Senator Barack Obama released the following statement regarding John Edwards.

“John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn’t popular to do or covered in the news. At a time when our politics is too focused on who’s up and who’s down, he made a nation focus again on who matters – the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington. John and Elizabeth Edwards have always believed deeply that we can change this – that two Americans can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may end today, the cause of their lives endures for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America,” said Barack Obama.

McCain wins Florida primary, Rudy out tomorrow; Clinton wins, but earns no delegates

2008-01-30T00:25:00.000-05:00

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is leaving the race for president after placing third in a primary he had said was a "must win." (Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Kimberly Chin
Assistant News Editor

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won the Florida Republican primary, beating Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) by five points, 36 percent to 31 percent, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, while Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) won a Democratic primary that awarded her no delegates.

McCain earned all 57 national convention delegates from the state and drove former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani from the race. Giuliani placed in third, earning 15 percent in a state he repeatedly said was a "must win," since he relied on a victory there to parlay momentum into the Super Tuesday contests, where more than 21 states will choose their Republican nominee.

"Our victory might not have met landslide proportions," McCain said at his victory rally, "but it's sweet nonetheless." McCain drew upon the conservative and senior voters in the state while Romney was able to scoop up the moderate and socially liberal voters.

Giuliani spent millions of dollars in Florida, campaigning there almost alone while the other candidates spent time competing in the other early primary states, including Iowa, Michigan and South Carolina. In his concession, he did not explicitly drop out of the race, but reports confirmed his departure minutes after he left the stage.

"We ran a campaign that was uplifting," he told his supporters.

Florida is a crucial state in the Republican primary having given the most delegates in a single state thus far. About 2 million voters turned out in Florida to vote in the Republican contest.

Exit polls show that the economy was the most important issue for Florida voters. McCain said that it is up to the government to not spend more than necessary pointing out the excessive money spent in wars overseas and have resulted in a "loss" to Americans.

Drawing from his military experience, he stressed the need for the government to secure the nation from "enemies foreign and domestic."

Romney also stressed the importance of the economy in his concession. "The economy is in my blood," he told Floridians; Romney was referring to his corporate background in the venture capital business. "Americans need a president in the White House that's actually had a job in the real world," Romney said.

"We are not going to change Washington by just sending the same people back just to sit in different chairs," said Romney. "Change will begin with us."

Gov. Mike Huckabee (R- Ark.) told his supporters in Florida he will be heading to California, suggesting that he still had high hopes for Super Tuesday, and he was staying in the race, despite placing fourth in the Florida primary.

Democratic voters took to the polls as well, despite being stripped of its national delegates because the state chose to hold its primary before the national party rules said it could. The candidates, as a result, agreed not to campaign in the state as well. Analysts deemed the primary a "beauty contest."

Clinton won the primary handily, getting 50 percent of the votes, with 94 percent of the precincts reporting. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won 33 percent while Edwards picked up 14 percent of the vote. Clinton was the only Democrat to appear in Florida to address supporters there, and she did it after the polls closed.

“I could not come here to ask in person for your votes, but I am here to thank you for your votes today," she said. "I am thrilled to have had this vote of confidence that you have given me today, and I promise you I will do everything I can to make sure not only are Florida’s Democratic delegates seated, but Florida is in the winning column for the Democrats in 2008."

Both parties are now turning to Feb. 5, in which the candidates will be busy traversing the country trying to gain as much support from the 24 states participating in the primaries and caucuses as they can. Super Tuesday will be a make-or-break for many of the candidates, and it could indicate a clear frontrunner in close primary elections.

With the Florida win, McCain was very hopeful about his chances on Tuesday. "I'm confident we will succeed in this contest and in the bigger one against any one of the Democratic nominees," he said.

Obama wins by substantial margin in South Carolina

2008-01-27T01:30:00.000-05:00

(Sen. Barack Obama defiantly delivers his victory speech in South Carolina. Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Kimberly Chin
Assistant News Editor

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama dominated Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) in the South Carolina Democratic primary, winning 55 percent to a 26 percent, with 100 percent of precincts reporting on another Democratic primary with record turnout. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was right behind Clinton with 17 percent in the polls.

The Palmetto state victory has reinvigorated Obama's campaign after consecutive second-place finishes behind Clinton, who has won New Hampshire and Nevada. Obama also scored a major endorsement from Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy.

Obama's victory speech was defiant in the face of week-long attacks from Clinton's campaign, including from former President Bill Clinton himself.

"After four great contests in every corner of this country, we have the most votes, the most delegates, and the most diverse coalition of Americans we've seen in a long, long time," he said. "They are young and old, rich and poor. They are black and white, Latino and Asian. They are Democrats from Des Moines and Independents from Concord; Republicans from rural Nevada and young people across this country who've never had a reason to participate until now.

"And in nine days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying that we are tired of business-as-usual in Washington, we are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again," he said.

The record turnout in South Carolina was the fourth-straight Democratic contest with more voters than ever before; more than 530,000 voters turned out. Obama got more votes today than the entire Democratic turnout in 2004, said Howard Fineman, a Newsweek political analyst, on MSNBC.

Clinton decided not to deliver a formal concession speech, instead moving immediately beyond the contest to campaign in Tennessee. Instead, she released a statement, which said she had called Obama to congratulate him, thanking her supporters in South Carolina and calling for her campaign to "turn our attention to the millions of Americans who will make their voices heard" in the twenty-four states that will vote on Feb. 5.

Edwards delivered a concession speech in which he announced that he would continue to look to Feb. 5 to gain the support he needed, and told the low- and middle-income Americans that their voices will be heard in his campaign on Super Tuesday. "We will speak for you and fight for you," he told his supporters.

His third place standing came despite a bounce in the polls after a bruising debate on Tuesday, Jan. 22, in which Obama and Clinton leveled personal attacks against each other. South Carolina is Edwards' birth state, and he invested heavily in the state, in an attempt to show credibility as a native-Southerner.

Exit polls indicated a huge amount of support from black voters for Obama. He received 80 percent of their votes, compared with 18 percent for Clinton and 1 percent for Obama. The three candidates split white voters almost equally, but Clinton took the most with slightly more than 30 percent.

Obama emphasized the diversity of his support. "I did not travel around his state and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina," Obama told the cheering audience in South Carolina. "I saw South Carolina."

Kucinich drops out

2008-01-24T17:34:00.000-05:00

Rep. Dennis Kucinich is ending his second long-shot run for the presidency, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer , via Politico.com.

His candidacy was marked by low poll numbers, and his eventual dis-invitation to an NBC News debate, which led to a court battle settled in the final hours before the debate took place.

Thompson drops out

2008-01-22T14:35:00.000-05:00

Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), who announced his candidacy for President on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on the night the other Republican candidates at the time were debating, has dropped out of the race.

His campaign was dogged by allegations of laziness on the campaign trail, and he performed poorly in a contest his campaign said he needed to win--or at least perform well in-- in South Carolina.

The Thompson campaign issued a statement from the Senator announcing his withdrawal.

McCain edges Huckabee in South Carolina

2008-01-19T20:07:00.000-05:00

Sen. John McCain accepts victory in the South Carolina GOP primary. (Video provided by MSNBC.com)

By Kimberly Chin
Assistant News Editor

Uncertainty continues in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, as Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) wins the South Carolina primary with 33 percent of the vote to become the GOP victor in the first Southern primary, a state he lost when he was the object of aggressive negative campaigning in 2000 by then-Gov. George W. Bush's campaign.

He edged out Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.), who received 30 percent of the vote, with 94 percent of precincts reporting, while Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) and Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) raced for third place, Romney trailing behind Thompson by less than 1 percent.

“It took us a while, but what’s eight years among friends?” McCain said in his victory speech, referring to his unsuccessful campaign against President George Bush in 2000. Shouts of “Mac is back! Mac is back!” echoed among McCain's supporters.

Every GOP winner in the South Carolina primary has become the nominee since 1980. And no Republican has won the White House without South Carolina for decades.

McCain's support again came from Independents and some Republicans, but he lost overall registered Republicans to Huckabee. Huckabee's core constituency, evangelical Christians, split its vote between McCain, Huckabee and Thompson, according to exit polls.

McCain appealed to the voters who felt that the top campaign issue remains the war in Iraq, according to exit polls.

Huckabee had announced that he had called McCain personally to congratulate him and thanked him for a "civil and decent" campaign. "The path to the White House is not ending here tonight," Huckabee said in his concession speech. "Tomorrow we wake up to fight the battle yet again and yet again."

Thompson delivered a rambling speech to his supporters even before the votes were fully tallied. "It's never been about me. It's never even been about you. It's been about our country," Thompson told his supporters. Pundits on MSNBC were laughing as he finished, and anchor Keith Olbermann asked "What was that?" as they came back on the air.

Analysts believe he may drop out of the race in the coming days, because he had been banking on a strong showing in South Carolina, and he did not indicate meeting that threshold. CNN reported that two sources said Thompson may be hitting the end of his campaign, with aides saying it had become "abundantly evident to us all."

Romney's shifted his focus from South Carolina toward Nevada earlier in the campaign, amounting to a victory for him there.

McCain's victory carries momentum for his campaign into Florida, where the GOP holds its next primary on Jan. 29, and where McCain already has a slight lead, according to polls conducted in the state. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is banking on a Florida victory to carry his campaign into Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, but his precipitous decline in the polls may prevent it from happening.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) drops out

2008-01-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

CNN Political Ticker reports Hunter abandoning his candidacy for President.

Clinton wins close Nevada contest, Romney coasts there

2008-01-19T18:51:00.001-05:00

By Samuel Rubenfeld
News Editor

Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) won the hotly contested Nevada Democratic caucus for her second straight victory, while Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) coasted to victory there in the Republican caucus in the first major contest in the West.

With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton captured 51 percent of the vote, with Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) receiving 45 percent and Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) placing a distant third, not even receiving four percent.

Nevada state Democratic party officials told the New York Times that they had a record turnout of more than 107,000 voters, making it the third straight state to host a record turnout of Democratic voters in the early primary season.

The powerful Culinary Union had endorsed Obama the day after the New Hampshire primary, and that was expected to deliver him a major constituency because of its deep organization and strength in Nevada.

Democratic voters poured into caucus sites around the state, including eight sites on the Las Vegas strip that were the source of major controversy between the Clinton and Obama campaigns: after the Culinary Union endorsement, elements connected to the Clinton campaign filed a lawsuit claiming caucus-goers at those sites had disproportionate power because they were able to caucus while at work, whereas other workers could not. The lawsuit failed, but Clinton won at least six of the sites anyway.

“Today we won a huge victory by overcoming institutional hurdles,” said a memo from the Clinton campaign hours after the caucuses closed. “This was a victory for all those who work hard and caucused on behalf of Hillary to revive our struggling economy.”

Clinton had accused surrogates of the Obama campaign of intimidating caucus-goers to vote for him in the late hours of the Nevada contest, but she showed no concrete evidence of such intimidation, citing “anecdotes” from her supporters.

Exit polls indicated a nearly 3-1 margin of victory for Clinton by Hispanic voters. A majority of women voters supported Clinton, according to exit polls.

The same exit polls indicated a 5-1 margin of victory amongst black voters for Obama.

NBC News called Romney’s victory by 1 p.m., immediately upon the closing of the GOP caucuses. Half of his voters were Mormon, according to exit polls.

Romney was the only Republican candidate to seriously campaign in Nevada, with most of the others concerning themselves with the South Carolina GOP primary occurring the same day. Turnout there was expected to be impacted by the weather, which forecasted for snow in many parts of the state.

With 97 percent of Republican precincts reporting, Romney won with 51 percent of the vote, followed by Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), each with 13 percent, but Paul edged McCain by about 200 votes.

UPDATE: Victory for Clinton is not so settled after all. The Obama campaign put out a statement saying despite losing the caucus by percentage, it won the battle over delegates, 13 to 12, and that the Clinton campaign engaged in voter intimidation. Clinton's campaign responded saying he was wrong, that they won 13 to 12. Further muddling the picture is the state Democratic chairman, who said he cannot verify the vote count, because he is assuming the delegates are going to stay committed to their candidate until the official tally is taken in late April.

Stay tuned, because this can get very, very ugly.

Romney wins Michigan, Dems debate in Nevada

2008-01-16T04:21:00.000-05:00

By Samuel Rubenfeld
News Editor

In a whirlwind night of presidential politics, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the Republican Michigan primary, while the leading Democrats sat down to debate in Las Vegas on MSNBC.

With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Romney captured 39 percent of the vote, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) placed second with 30 percent of the vote and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee earned a distant third with 16 percent.

Romney's win continues the wide-open Republican race for the nomination; in its first three major contests, Republicans have chosen three different candidates.

“A Romney victory further muddles the field, and the candidate who benefits most is [New York City Mayor Rudy] Giuliani,” said Richard Himelfarb, an associate professor of political science. “Rudy can still get the nomination with a victory in Florida, but he has to win there.”

Giuliani placed sixth in Michigan with 3 percent, only defeating one other named candidate, fringe candidate Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.). Analysts believe Giuliani’s strategy to ignore the early states in favor of lavishing attention on larger, more diverse states with large delegate counts is highly risky, and may have already cost him the nomination.

Democratic voters also went to the ballot boxes in Michigan, but their votes were irrelevant, due to party violations for holding the primary before Feb. 5. Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) won the primary with 55 percent of the vote with 97 percent of precincts reporting, but the victory awarded her no delegates at the national convention.

Clinton was the only major candidate on the Democratic ballot in Michigan, and 40 percent of voters chose “uncommitted” instead of picking a candidate. According to NBC News exit polls, 73 percent of those uncommitted voters would have voted for Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.). (Obama and Edwards were not on the ballot.)

Since Michigan did not matter, the Democrats moved on to debate in Nevada, where their caucuses will occur Saturday, Jan. 19. Before the debate began, it was already fraught with controversy, with the Nevada Supreme Court ruling against Rep. Dennis Kucinich and his appeal to participate in the debate in Las Vegas less than four hours before its scheduled start.

The debate was notable for its civility on the heels of what became a personally bruising 72 hours between the Obama and Clinton campaigns that featured a heated battle over race and gender issues.

The candidates backtracked from the heated exchanges, with Clinton answering the first question of the debate by saying “neither race nor gender should be a part of this campaign.”

The debate featured a different format, with the candidates seated at a table instead of standing at lecterns, and pundits believed that it contributed to the level of civility.

It also was noted for its nuance, especially regarding the subprime mortgage scandal and bankruptcy. Clinton brought up CountryWide, a mortagage company recently bought by Bank of America, as an example of corporate Americaout of touch with ordinary people.

“Countrywide gets bought and the CEO, who was one of the architects of this whole subprime mess, is set off with $100 million — $100 million in severance pay,” she said. “The priorities and the values are absolutely wrong.”

The candidates had the opportunity to ask each other one question. Clinton took the opportunity to ask Obama to co-sponsor a bill not allowing the President to enter into an agreement with the Iraqi government that would “bind the hands of the next president,” without Congressional approval.

As a sign of the evening, Obama agreed to work on the bill. “Well, I think we can work on this, Hillary,” he said.

A night of presidential politics

2008-01-16T02:27:00.000-05:00

In one night of presidential politics, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wins the Michigan primary and the Democratic candidates debate in Las Vegas.

Primary results and analysis can be found here. You can read the transcript of the debate here, or watch video highlights on msnbc.com.

Welcome

2008-01-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to The Chronicle's online coverage of the 2008 presidential election.

Since the University took a trip to New Hampshire, and it is hosting a presidential debate in October, it is imperative for The Chronicle to be on the front lines covering as many facets of the campaign as it can. Because The Chronicle is a weekly publication, the easiest and fastest way to cover the election is to blog the developments as they come.

Some of this blog will be rewrite (linking students to articles/polls/issues that The Chronicle believes newsworthy to University students, but not in The Chronicle) but we will make every attempt to keep the content as original as possible.

Please stay tuned for coverage throughout the year, ending when every vote is counted, and when the United States has selected is 44th President.