Obama regains ground from losses to Clinton
Clinton's wins in Texas, Ohio keep candidacy alive
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 5, 2008 | 3:54 PM ET
CBC News
Hillary Clinton led a rejuvenated campaign Wednesday after comeback victories in the Texas and Ohio Democratic primaries, but did not appear to pick up enough delegates to make a significant dent in the lead of her rival, Barack Obama.
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama speaks Tuesday during a primary night rally in San Antonio, Texas.
(Eric Gay/Associated Press)
Numbers emerging the day after the contests based on results from the Texas caucuses indicated Obama had regained lost ground on Clinton in the Lone Star state, while also not giving up much in losses in Rhode Island and Ohio.
Late returns showed Clinton emerged from the four state votes with a gain of just 12 delegates on her rival for the night, with another dozen yet to be awarded, according to an Associated Press count mid-Wednesday.
That left Obama with an overall lead of 101 delegates — 1,562-1,461 — as the rivals look ahead to the final dozen contests on the calendar. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.
Clinton, whose campaign just two weeks ago was deemed on the ropes by many political observers, even hinted Wednesday at the possibility of sharing the Democratic presidential ticket with Obama, but with her name at the top.
Clinton wins considered crucial
Asked on CBS's The Early Show whether she and Obama should be on the same ticket, Clinton said: "That may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of [the] ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me."Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton acknowledges supporters during a primary night rally Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
(Mark Duncan/Associated Press)
Clinton, also declared the victor in Rhode Island earlier Tuesday, had lost 12 consecutive contests to Obama and the wins were considered crucial to keep her candidacy alive.
Obama, who won the Vermont primary, credited Clinton for being a tenacious candidate who "just keeps on ticking," but emphasized he still had an "insurmountable lead" in the delegate count.
He added that the Clinton campaign had managed to convince the press corps to be harder on him, which may have had an influence on the Ohio and Texas contests.
Clinton had unleashed a barrage of criticism against Obama ahead of the votes, questioning his sincerity in opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement and darkly hinting he's not ready to be commander in chief in a crisis.
Clinton touts 'lifetime of experience'
Obama also took aim at Clinton's repeated claim in her speeches and advertising that she was more qualified to handle an international crisis from the Oval Office.
"What exactly is this foreign policy experience?" Obama asked mockingly. "Was she negotiating treaties? Was she handling crises? The answer is no.
"She made a series of arguments on why she should be a superior candidate. I think it's important to examine that argument."
Clinton, who was asked in TV interviews Wednesday about her national security qualifications, ticked off a series events in which she played a role, including peace talks in Northern Ireland, the Kosovo refugee crisis and standing up for women's rights in China. She also cited her work on the Senate armed services committee.
She said John McCain's capture of the Republican nomination made it clear that foreign policy and national security would be at the forefront of the campaign.
"I have a lifetime of experience. Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience. Senator Obama's campaign is about one speech he made in 2002," she told CNN, in reference to Obama's address detailing his opposition to the plan to attack Iraq ahead of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Campaigns eye Pennsylvania prize
Although Wyoming and Mississippi are the next battleground states, the candidates are expected to focus much of their attention on next month's contest in Pennsylvania — the biggest primary remaining with 159 delegates.
Delegates from Tuesday night's Democratic primaries were still being sorted out. For the night, Clinton won at least 185 delegates and Obama won at least 173.
Clinton's victory in Ohio won her only nine more delegates than Obama, with two delegates still to be awarded.
In Texas, where voters engaged in a two-step process that awarded more delegates in heavily populated regions, Clinton won four more delegates than Obama in the initial primary.
But Obama trimmed Clinton's lead to a single Texas delegate in the subsequent party caucuses held after the primary polls closed Tuesday night. There were still 10 delegates to be awarded in the caucuses as of mid-Wednesday.
With files from the Associated Press
