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McCain: ‘We will unite the party’

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that he will bring the Republican Party together to win the presidency.

We will unite the party behind our conservative principles and move forward and win the general election in November, the Arizona senator said the day after significantly padding his lead over rivals Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.

Standing in front of his Straight Talk Express bus, flanked by the man he has called his favorite Democrat, independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, McCain said he was pleased at the depth and breadth of our victory last night.

Supporters like Lieberman and Graham, he said, gave us a broad base of support from all parts of this party.

McCain said he has canceled a planned trip abroad this weekend in order to wrap this up as quickly as possible. Watch what McCain says about his relationship with conservatives

McCain took the lion’s share of Republican delegates on Super Tuesday, but still had only about 52 percent of the number needed to secure his party’s nomination. Watch why analyst says Super Tuesday not decisive

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton comes away with about 41 percent of the delegates needed for the nomination while Sen. Barack Obama sits at 36 percent.

Fewer than 50 votes separate Obama and Clinton in New Mexico, with 98 percent of Tuesday’s vote counted.

McCain said he is not worried about concern among very conservative Republicans that he is not conservative enough for their tastes.

With conservative voters, which are the majority of Republicans, we did extremely well, he said.

Comparing his home state with that of his more conservative rival, he said, We won by a much larger margin in Arizona than Gov. Romney did in Massachusetts.

Is there a lot of work to unite the entire party? he asked rhetorically. Sure. After the campaigns are over, you’ve always got the task of uniting the party behind the nominee.

But he expressed confidence he can do just that.

Our message will be we all share common conservative principles, he said. Fundamental conservative political philosophy, which has been my record.

Now the focus of the presidential races is on primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia next Tuesday.

The candidates hope to gain momentum for those with victories in the Louisiana primaries and Washington state caucuses on Saturday. Watch why the races will go on

Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns believe Obama has an edge in those races. Clinton will focus on March 4 primaries in Texas and especially Ohio, said the Web site Politico’s executive editor Jim VandeHei.

There are a lot of working-class whites [in Ohio] and she feels she does extraordinarily well with that demographic, VandeHei said on CNN’s American Morning.

Further along, the Clinton camp sees Pennsylvania on April 22 as a state where the demographics work in her favor.

I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debates about how to leave this country better off for the next generation, because that is the work of my life, Clinton said Tuesday night.

Although Clinton took the majority of delegates in large states like California, New York and New Jersey on Tuesday, Obama won more states overall, 13 to Clinton’s eight. Full February 5 results

Obama said Wednesday he scored a big victory on Tuesday and that he was overcoming Clinton’s political machine that made her the front-runner in every race.

This campaign is gaining momentum by the day, he said at a Chicago news conference, repeating his mantra that he is the Democrat who can bring about change.

Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s communications director, called for one debate a week between the two Democrats leading up to the March 4 primaries in Ohio and Texas.

We won the votes of people who decided on the last day. We did that in large measure … because of a very strong debate performance, Wolfson said.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean expressed satisfaction Wednesday with the primaries and what the Super Tuesday results mean for his party.

I think it’s good that we go deep in the nominating process, Dean said. I want our candidates to be exposed in all of the states — in places like Pennsylvania and Washington D.C., and Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin. Good for the Democratic Party, good for the country to see candidates up close, Dean said on CNN’s American Morning.

McCain is the clear front-runner among the Republicans. He’s won more than double the number of delegates than Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and more than three times those earned by former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee. More about delegates

Huckabee, buoyed by victories Tuesday in Arkansas, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, pledged Wednesday to stay in the race until the end.

It may be that none of us have enough [delegates] to win the whole thing until we get to the convention, he said. If I don’t stay in the race, I can’t win.

Romney on Tuesday won Massachusetts and Utah and came out on top in caucuses in Alaska, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. It was enough to keep him plugging.

We’re going to battle, go all the way to the convention, win this thing, and get to the White House, Romney said Tuesday night.

But top Romney advisers acknowledged that it will be difficult to overcome McCain’s lead.

It is tough to saddle up this a.m., one Romney adviser told CNN.
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Australia launch World Cup bid with win

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Asian powers Australia, Japan and South Korea all made emphatic starts to their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaigns Wednesday with convincing wins.

Everton midfielder Tim Cahill scored one goal and came close four other times as Australia downed Qatar 3-0.

Striker Josh Kennedy of German club Karlsruhe opened the scoring in the 10th minute when he headed home from close range following a cross from Blackburn midfielder Brett Emerton.

Cahill made it 2-0 seven minutes later when he leapt above the Qatar defenders and headed from a corner.

Australia maintained unrelenting pressure on Qatar, having several attempts at goal before Mark Bresciano drove in a powerful shot under a diving Mohamed Saqar in the 33rd minute.

Yasuhito Endo scored from a 21-minute to set Japan on the way to a 4-1 win over Thailand in snowy conditions at Saitama.

Thailand’s goalkeeper Kosin Hathairattanakool was rooted to the spot as Endo’s freekick drifted into the bottom corner.

Teeratep Winothai equalised with a fierce shot a minute later and Japan had to wait until the 54th minute to reclaim the lead when Yoshito Okubo pounced on a rebound in the box amidst a sloppy defensive display by the visitors

Thailand’s hopes of a recovery looked bleak when Narongchai Vachiraban was shown a second yellow card for pulling down Yuji Nakazawa.

Nakazawa headed home a free-kick on 66 minutes to stretch Japan’s advantage to 3-1 before substitute forward Seiichiro Maki completed the scoring in time added on.

World Cup qualifiers are not easy and the weather made it even more difficult, said Okubo. This was a good result for us and I’m happy I was able to contribute.

The temperature at kickoff was just two degrees Celsius (36 F) and snow fell throughout the match.

Manchester United-based Park Ji-sung’s first goal for his country since the 2006 World Cup and two from Seol Ki-hyeon of Fulham helped South Korea stroll to a comfortable 4-0 win over Turkmenistan.

Kwak Tae-hwi struck a minute before half-time to open the scoring and smash the visitors’ stubborn resistance — the goal breaking a goalscoring drought for Korea that had stretched to nine hours.

Seol was on target after 57 and 83 minutes with Park Ji-Sung making his mark on 70.

Hawar Taher converted a penalty after 50 minutes to put Iraq ahead in Dubai against China who equalised after 75 minutes through Zheng Zhi. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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McCain claims front-runner status; Dem race not settled

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain cemented his Republican front-runner status Tuesday, piling up big wins coast-to- coast, according to CNN projections.

Democratic voters remain evenly split on Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama for their party’s nomination.

The presidential races head to key primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia next Tuesday. The candidates hope to gain momentum for those with victories in the Louisiana primaries and Washington state caucuses on Saturday.

Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns acknowledge an edge to Obama in those races. Clinton will focus on March 4 primaries in Texas and especially Ohio, said the Web site Politico’s executive editor Jim VandeHei.

There are a lot of working-class whites [in Ohio] and she feels she does extraordinarily well with that demographic, VandeHei said on CNN’s American Morning.

On Tuesday night, Obama won more states, but Clinton won states with higher delegate counts.

McCain capped the night by taking California and all its 170 delegates.

But even with the California bounty, McCain is just over halfway to getting the 1,191 delegates needed for the GOP nomination.

The Democratic race is even further away from a clincher. Although Clinton holds a slight lead over Obama in delegates, she has fewer than half of the 2,025 needed for the nomination.

After having been nearly written off last summer, the Arizona senator finally felt comfortable enough to call himself the leader of the pack.

Tonight 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. And I don’t really mind it one bit, he said as results came in Tuesday. Watch McCain claim front-runner status

On the Democratic side, Clinton took California, according to CNN projections.

Most Republican contests are winner-take-all, but most Democratic contests are awarded proportionally, based on the number of congressional districts won.

Clinton took the larger share of California’s 370 Democratic delegates. More about delegates

We know what we need is someone ready on Day One to solve our problems and seize those opportunities, Clinton said Tuesday. Because when the bright lights are off and the cameras are gone, who can you count on to listen to you, to stand up for you, to deliver solutions for you? Watch Clinton speak to her supporters

McCain also won Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Delaware and Arizona, his home state, according to CNN projections. Full February 5 results

McCain has gathered 514 delegates so far in his presidential campaign, including Tuesday night’s projections. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has 177 delegates, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has 122. What do the results mean?

In Georgia, Huckabee edged out McCain, who held a slim margin over Romney.

Romney won in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and Utah. See who won the popular vote in each state

One thing that’s clear — this campaign’s going on, Romney said. I think there’s some people who thought that it was all going to be done tonight, but it’s not all done tonight. We’re going to keep on battling. Watch Romney vow to fight

In addition to Georgia, Huckabee picked up Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia. Watch what Huckabee says about Tuesday’s results

Going into Super Tuesday, the Republican race had largely been viewed as a fight between McCain and Romney.

Over the past few days, a lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two-man race. Well, you know what? It is, and we’re in it, Huckabee said as the results came in.

More than 1,000 Republican delegates were up for grabs Tuesday. To clinch the nomination, a candidate must win 1,191 delegates.

Tuesday’s contests did not produce a front-runner on the Democratic side.

Our time has come, our movement is real and change is coming to America, Obama said Tuesday. We are more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and always will be the United States of America. Watch Obama rally his supporters

The biggest prizes that Obama won were his home state of Illinois and Georgia, and a larger share of the 288 delegates in those states.

Obama also won Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah. Between those states, he would be awarded the larger share of 278 delegates.

Clinton was also projected to win her home state of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and the larger share of the 329 delegates at stake in those states.

Clinton also won Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and the larger share of the 235 delegates in those states.

Republican conservative voters appear to be evenly split between Romney and Huckabee, according to preliminary exit polls of Super Tuesday voters.

Of those who voted for Huckabee or Romney, about 80 percent identified themselves as conservative, according to the polls. Watch why voters picked their candidates

Only 49 percent of McCain’s voters said they were conservative, a sign that the Arizona senator’s efforts during the past week to placate conservative voters have not paid off.

On the Democratic side, those who made up their mind in the past three days appear to be torn between Obama and Clinton. According to the exit polls, Obama and Clinton are essentially splitting those voters, with 47 percent going for Obama and 46 percent for Clinton. Watch how CNN analysts view the GOP race

On the Republican side, front-runners McCain and Romney have engaged in bitter exchanges over their conservative records in recent weeks.
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Tight Super Tuesday race for Democrats

(CNN) — New York Sen. Hillary Clinton claimed wins across most of the Northeast in Super Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primaries, while Illinois Sen. Barack Obama captured the bulk of the Midwest, according to CNN projections.

Clinton, the former first lady, was forecast to win her home state and neighboring New Jersey — as well as Massachusetts, where the state’s two senators and governor had endorsed Obama.

She also was forecast to win primaries in Arkansas — where her husband was governor for more than a decade — and neighboring Oklahoma and Tennessee.

But Obama claimed wins in two Deep South states, Alabama and Georgia, with overwhelming support from a large African-American turnout despite early endorsements of Clinton by many black officials. And he won Democratic caucuses in three states with mostly white populations — Minnesota, North Dakota and Kansas.

Obama also was projected to win primaries in Delaware, Connecticut and Illinois, which sent him to the Senate in 2004.

I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debates about how to leave this country better off for the next generation, because that is the work of my life, Clinton told supporters at her headquarters in New York, Tuesday night. Watch Sen. Clinton talk to her supporters

More than four-fifths of the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination were at stake on Super Tuesday, when states from Massachusetts to Alaska, along with the Pacific territory of American Samoa, held Democratic primaries or caucuses. But since the party allocates delegates proportionately, neither candidate appeared to land a knockout blow. Watch how the delegates will be assigned

Exit polls showed Obama beating Clinton by more than 2-to-1 margin in Georgia, while Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady, held a lopsided lead over Obama in Oklahoma. View what is at stake on Super Tuesday

As in South Carolina, African-American voters made up just over half the turnout in Georgia’s Democratic primary — and exit polls indicated that Obama, the son of a Kenyan immigrant father and a white mother, took about 80 percent of that vote. And his nearly 40 percent showing among white voters was an improvement over South Carolina, where native son John Edwards was also in the mix.

Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race last week following a string of third-place showings.

I dare say this is not going to be over certainly tonight, and maybe not for a month from now, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean told CNN.

While Clinton had racked up a string of wins in populous states, She’s not taking them convincingly, said David Gergen, a former adviser to the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

She won New York by 15 points. Barack Obama won Illinois by 30 — his own home state, Gergen said. So it’s closer in the delegate camp, but she is moving. You get the sense their wagon is continuing to roll.

Clinton and Obama split the party’s early contests, with Obama winning the Iowa caucuses and South Carolina primary and Clinton taking the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucuses. Clinton also won primaries in Florida and Michigan, but those states were stripped of their delegates for moving their primaries up in defiance of the national Democratic Party.

Each of the surviving candidates has raised more than $100 million to date, and they spent a combined $21 million on television advertising in the past two weeks, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG, CNN’s consultant on political ad spending. Obama spent about $12 million since January 21, said Evan Tracey, CMAG’s chief operating officer.

He is putting his money to work, Tracey said. He has turned up the volume, not only in the February 5th states but beyond.

Clinton voted in her adopted hometown of Chappaqua, New York, where she was joined by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea. Watch Clinton cast her ballot

The stakes are huge for our country, a lot of big challenges, but America’s up to it, Clinton said after casting her vote. We just need a president who’s ready on day one to turn the economy around and become commander-in-chief and get our country back on the right track.

Clinton’s campaign played down the Georgia result, saying it did not seriously contest the state while Obama had a longstanding lead and spent half a million dollars on television ads there.

But Clinton had the support of much of Georgia’s black political establishment, including former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and veteran congressman John Lewis — onetime lieutenants of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — and both she and her husband made campaign appearances there last week.

Clinton, meanwhile, talked up her projected victory in Massachusetts. Obama got a late surge endorsement from Sen. Edward Kennedy; he also had the support of the state’s other senator, John Kerry, the Democrats’ 2004 presidential nominee, and Gov. Deval Patrick.

Her campaign said the results show Clinton can show strength in places Obama was expected to win. But Obama spokesman Bill Burton on Massachusetts pointed out that the Illinois senator trailed Clinton by more than 30 points in late January.

We’re happy for a close result, Burton said.
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Tight Super Tuesday race for Democrats

(CNN) — New York Sen. Hillary Clinton claimed wins across most of the Northeast in Super Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primaries, while Illinois Sen. Barack Obama captured the bulk of the Midwest, according to CNN projections.

Clinton, the former first lady, was forecast to win her home state and neighboring New Jersey — as well as Massachusetts, where the state’s two senators and governor had endorsed Obama.

She also was forecast to win primaries in Arkansas — where her husband was governor for more than a decade — and neighboring Oklahoma and Tennessee.

But Obama claimed wins in two Deep South states, Alabama and Georgia, with overwhelming support from a large African-American turnout despite early endorsements of Clinton by many black officials. And he won Democratic caucuses in three states with mostly white populations — Minnesota, North Dakota and Kansas.

Obama also was projected to win primaries in Delaware, Connecticut and Illinois, which sent him to the Senate in 2004.

I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debates about how to leave this country better off for the next generation, because that is the work of my life, Clinton told supporters at her headquarters in New York, Tuesday night. Watch Sen. Clinton talk to her supporters

More than four-fifths of the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination were at stake on Super Tuesday, when states from Massachusetts to Alaska, along with the Pacific territory of American Samoa, held Democratic primaries or caucuses. But since the party allocates delegates proportionately, neither candidate appeared to land a knockout blow. Watch how the delegates will be assigned

Exit polls showed Obama beating Clinton by more than 2-to-1 margin in Georgia, while Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady, held a lopsided lead over Obama in Oklahoma. View what is at stake on Super Tuesday

As in South Carolina, African-American voters made up just over half the turnout in Georgia’s Democratic primary — and exit polls indicated that Obama, the son of a Kenyan immigrant father and a white mother, took about 80 percent of that vote. And his nearly 40 percent showing among white voters was an improvement over South Carolina, where native son John Edwards was also in the mix.

Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race last week following a string of third-place showings.

I dare say this is not going to be over certainly tonight, and maybe not for a month from now, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean told CNN.

While Clinton had racked up a string of wins in populous states, She’s not taking them convincingly, said David Gergen, a former adviser to the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

She won New York by 15 points. Barack Obama won Illinois by 30 — his own home state, Gergen said. So it’s closer in the delegate camp, but she is moving. You get the sense their wagon is continuing to roll.

Clinton and Obama split the party’s early contests, with Obama winning the Iowa caucuses and South Carolina primary and Clinton taking the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucuses. Clinton also won primaries in Florida and Michigan, but those states were stripped of their delegates for moving their primaries up in defiance of the national Democratic Party.

Each of the surviving candidates has raised more than $100 million to date, and they spent a combined $21 million on television advertising in the past two weeks, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG, CNN’s consultant on political ad spending. Obama spent about $12 million since January 21, said Evan Tracey, CMAG’s chief operating officer.

He is putting his money to work, Tracey said. He has turned up the volume, not only in the February 5th states but beyond.

Clinton voted in her adopted hometown of Chappaqua, New York, where she was joined by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea. Watch Clinton cast her ballot

The stakes are huge for our country, a lot of big challenges, but America’s up to it, Clinton said after casting her vote. We just need a president who’s ready on day one to turn the economy around and become commander-in-chief and get our country back on the right track.

Clinton’s campaign played down the Georgia result, saying it did not seriously contest the state while Obama had a longstanding lead and spent half a million dollars on television ads there.

But Clinton had the support of much of Georgia’s black political establishment, including former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and veteran congressman John Lewis — onetime lieutenants of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — and both she and her husband made campaign appearances there last week.

Clinton, meanwhile, talked up her projected victory in Massachusetts. Obama got a late surge endorsement from Sen. Edward Kennedy; he also had the support of the state’s other senator, John Kerry, the Democrats’ 2004 presidential nominee, and Gov. Deval Patrick.

Her campaign said the results show Clinton can show strength in places Obama was expected to win. But Obama spokesman Bill Burton on Massachusetts pointed out that the Illinois senator trailed Clinton by more than 30 points in late January.

We’re happy for a close result, Burton said.
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