Obama wins Wyoming caucuses

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

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

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

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

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

By Samuel Rubenfeld
News Editor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Democrats duel in Austin

By Mike Manzoni
Staff Writer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overnight, Obama picks up Hawaii

By Samuel Rubenfeld
News Editor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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