Omega Nelson had stopped for a cigarette in the heart of Harlem on Monday morning when he found himself in a political debate. As many are these days, this one was prompted by a reporter and focused on Bill Clinton's role in Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign.

"Look," said Mr. Nelson, who was sitting at the curb near Mr. Clinton's office on 125th Street, "all he's doing is what any man would do. When your woman tries to get somewhere, you got to help her. His wife is running for president and, being his woman is involved, so he got involved, too."

Mr. Nelson, 61 and unemployed, was not alone in his forgiving stance toward Mr. Clinton, who, by the sound of things on Monday, is as popular in Harlem now as he was when he opened his office there in July 2001.

While the blogosphere and commentariat rang this weekend with angry declarations that he had crossed a line in his criticism of Barack Obama, many in Harlem seemed to mull it over, shrug their shoulders and say they understood, even if they didn't quite agree.

"What Bill Clinton said - well, his wife is running for office," said Tonya Burnett, who was waiting outside the building to visit a city housing office. "He's got to represent just like she represented when he was running. I don't think it's such a big deal."

To be sure, interviews conducted on a single day, in front of a single building, are apt to produce a narrow point of view. Yet the building, at 55 West 125th Street, is an important piece of real estate in Mr. Clinton's world.

Many in Harlem were overjoyed when he moved in. A crowd of 2,000 - chanting "We love Bill!" - gathered on the streets, serenaded by a violin rendition of "We Shall Overcome."

Nonetheless, it was somewhat odd - and perhaps unexpected - to hear so many passing through the doors on Monday suggest that Mr. Clinton's comments were a natural reaction in support of his wife.

"It ain't about race and it ain't about issues," said Guy Wellington, 48. "It's about his wife. He wants Hillary to follow in his footsteps. That's what husbands do."

Of course, there were some outside the building who said they were disturbed by the attacks. (Mr. Clinton compared Mr. Obama to Jesse Jackson, in that both men have won the South Carolina primary, Mr. Jackson twice, leading many to surmise that the former president was suggesting that Mr. Obama could win the black vote but not the general election.) But even those who professed to be angry acknowledged it was wholly understandable for a man to stand up for his spouse.

"He's pushing the race card as much as he can," said Tyrone Matthews, 47, who was also visiting the housing office. "He wants his wife to win - any man would want his wife to win - but not like that."

Confusing matters greatly - or making them more interesting, depending where you stand - is what many have described as Mr. Clinton's virtual status as America's first black president. Harlem (or at least that portion of it represented by the traffic passing in and out of his building) presented itself on Monday as a postracial neighborhood, one that saw the elections more in terms of the economy and war in Iraq and less in terms of black and white.

"A lot of black people aren't really looking at race; they're looking at who does good and who doesn't,” said Tasha Wilson, 27. Many in the crowd suggested they would happily vote for Mrs. Clinton (or her husband, if he were running). As for Mr. Clinton's jabs at Senator Obama, "it's not going to affect the impression of him, not in the black community or not outside the political offices among the general people," Ms. Wilson said.

In one of those offices - the one belonging to Representative Charles B. Rangel, the dean of Harlem Democrats and a supporter of Mrs. Clinton - there was a feeling this weekend that Mr. Clinton should scale back his involvement in the campaign. "He's got to," Mr. Rangel said on Sunday. "The focus has got to get back on Hillary."

But people on the streets said that the focus was already on Mrs. Clinton and that Mr. Clinton's jibes, while perhaps unfortunate, were also to the point.

"You got to attack," said Spencer Wilson, 63. "You got to. It's ridiculous, but it's politics. He's not doing it because of racial stuff. He's doing it for his wife so they can have another turn up in the White House."

The Clintons' marriage has always been an inscrutable affair, inaccessible to easy explanation from the outside. In Harlem, however, people said it was transparent. Victory was the glue.

"He ought to be careful what he's saying," said Tyrone Rose, 41, "but the fact is he wants his wife to win. The campaign's going to get nasty and I think Bill Clinton has a good chance whenever he wants to win."

Bruce Gordon, 47, had visited a notary inside the building. He said the criticisms might even sharpen Mr. Obama.

"These questions have to come up. If Obama gets the nomination, folks will ask, 'So who are you?' So far, he's a nice white middle-class guy," said Mr. Gordon, acknowledging the cheekiness of his remark with a cagey little smile. "You try to pull a black thing on Bill Clinton, he's going to say, 'Now wait a minute now.' "

WASHINGTON - The race for the Democratic presidential nomination may have its divisive moments, but it is generating intense interest and enthusiasm among the party's rank and file: significantly greater, by several measures, than the Republican contest, political experts say.

In the first four contests in which both parties have competed, the Democrats have set records for turnout and substantially exceeded the Republican showing, according to state parties and state election tallies.

In South Carolina on Saturday, for example, more than 530,000 Democrats voted, nearly twice the Democratic turnout of 2004, and nearly 20 percent higher than the Republican vote the week before.

Other indicators of an enthusiasm gap show up in polls, with more Democrats than Republicans reporting excitement about voting this year and a strong commitment to their candidate, according to recent New York Times/CBS News polls. Democratic presidential candidates have also regularly out-raised the Republicans in campaign cash.

"The Democrats are having an extraordinary year in terms of raising money," said Anthony J. Corrado Jr., a professor of government at Colby College in Waterville, Me., and an expert on campaign finance.

The meaning of all this for the November election, however, is a matter of dispute.

Democratic leaders argue that it points to a united, enthusiastic party that can expand the map of Democratic victories. Scott Brennan, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said that three times as many Iowans shifted their registration to the Democratic Party on caucus day as shifted to the Republicans.

"It says people are very tired of Bush administration policies," Mr. Brennan said. “And the Democratic candidates really energize people. People were excited to get out to the caucuses."

Some Republicans dismiss that Democratic energy as typical for a party out of power for eight years, and argue that it augurs little for the general election.

Richard N. Bond, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and a lobbyist, said there was no reason for his party to "hit the panic button." A nominee will emerge in his party, Mr. Bond said, and present a clear enough contrast to the Democratic nominee that "it will reinvigorate the entire Republican operation."

Alluding to the possibility of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic nominee, Mr. Bond added, "No one has the capacity to put the band back together again as much as she has."

Republican Party analysts also note that both Ronald Reagan and the senior George Bush were elected after Republican primaries in which turnout was lower than in the Democratic primaries.

"Democrats seem to frequently ignore the lessons of history, and they do so in 2008 at their own peril," said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

The sheer intensity of the Democratic primary battle could be problematic over the long haul. Outside analysts say that the sharp disputes and deepening divisions between Senator Barack Obama and Mrs. Clinton could, if not resolved, leave some voters disenchanted if their candidate did not prevail.

"That's a real question: Will the Democrats come away with a more divided, less upbeat set of constituents following the struggle between Obama and Hillary Clinton?" said Andrew Kohut, head of the Pew Research Center.

Geoffrey Garin, a Democratic pollster, said, "There's obviously a heated battle going on in the Democratic Party, but this is not a party at war with itself. It's not just a slogan to say there's a lot more that unites Democrats than divides them, and that's not clear at all with the Republicans."

In a New York Times/CBS News poll after the New Hampshire primary, but before the debates of recent days, there was no significant difference between Mr. Obama's supporters and Mrs. Clinton's in terms of their commitment. About 6 in 10 of each candidate's supporters said their minds were made up. In a separate question, about 7 in 10 of the supporters of each candidate said they "strongly favored" their candidate.

For now, Democrats say they are elated at the overall energy among their voters. Democratic turnout set a record in the Iowa caucuses of about 239,000, twice the Republican turnout, and nearly twice the Democratic turnout four years ago. In New Hampshire, nearly 290,000 people voted in the Democratic primary, well above the Republican's and the Democrat's own turnout four years ago.

In Nevada, more than 117,000 voted in the Democratic caucuses - compared with 9,000 who participated in 2004 - and more than 44,000 voted in the Republican caucuses.

And in South Carolina, Democratic turnout was so high that some Democrats said the state might be in play in November. That is an extremely optimistic idea, given that the last time a Democrat carried South Carolina was 32 years ago, when Jimmy Carter won it.

Analysts offer a variety of explanations for the Democratic excitement. Both of the front-runners offer the prospect of a historic first, breaking the line of either color or sex. Disenchantment with President Bush and the direction of the country remains high, and change is a priority with Democrats and many independents, polls show.

Whatever the reason, a recent Pew survey found that 4 in 10 Americans said they found the Democratic contest "very interesting," nearly double the percentage (21 percent) who described the Republican race as "very interesting." Young people were unusually interested, the poll found. Within the parties, 57 percent of the Democrats said the Democratic campaign was "very interesting," while only 32 percent of the Republicans found their party's contest that engaging.

"I think it's real," said Gary C. Jacobson, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, of the energy gap. "Turnout and various poll data suggest Democrats are more eager to vote and happier with their choice set than Republicans. I think it reflects an eagerness to get the Bush administration behind them."

In fact, the biggest applause line at Obama and Clinton events is often a reminder that Mr. Bush's days in office are dwindling.

Hillary Clinton will attempt to regain much-needed campaign momentum tonight with a controversial stop in Florida, where polls suggest she will beat Barack Obama in today's primary.

The state is about to become the centre of a tug of war between the two candidates.

The Democrats banned campaigning in the state because it breached party rules by holding its primary before February 5, and stripped it of its 210 delegates to the party's convention in the summer.

MIAMI -- A smiling Hillary Rodham Clinton waved from the front page of the Miami Herald on Monday after an evening of fundraising in Florida. The image of Barack Obama flickered on TV screens across the state, from the Panhandle to the high-rises lining South Florida's Biscayne Bay.

But don't call it campaigning. That is forbidden under a pledge the White House hopefuls signed back when Florida threatened to encroach on Iowa's and New Hampshire's privileged early spots on the presidential nominating calendar.

The result is an odd but intense competition over not just votes but, perhaps more significant, how to interpret the results of today's Democratic primary -- which will reward precisely zero delegates.

Clinton, who plans a visit after the polls close, has trumpeted Florida's importance, especially since Obama walloped her Saturday in the South Carolina primary. She has consistently led in polls here and is being boosted by a get-out-the-vote effort coordinated by friends in organized labor.

"I want the voters in Florida to know that I hear them, that I deeply care about their problems," the senator from New York told reporters Sunday before flying to the Sunshine State for three closed-door fundraisers. "They have all the problems of a fast-growing state with everything that represents."

Obama is downplaying Florida's significance, at least in the Democratic nominating fight. The state -- which introduced "butterfly ballot" and "hanging chad" into the nation's popular lexicon -- is once again expected to be a political battleground in the fall.

"All of us agreed not to campaign there," the senator from Illinois said Sunday on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." "So, you know, as I said before, when I tell people I'm going to do something or not do something, I try to stick to it. And that's what I'm going to do with respect to Florida."

The quasi-boycott has apparently done little, however, to dampen the enthusiasm of the state's Democrats. By Monday, nearly 450,000 absentee and early ballots had been cast -- more than four times the number four years ago -- though at least some of that interest may be tied to a hotly contested property-tax measure on the state ballot.

"That says something about the desire of Floridians to vote and make their voices heard," said Howard Wolfson, a top Clinton strategist. A non-event, scoffed Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe. (But the Obama camp couldn't resist inflating expectations for Clinton's showing. "She'll win by 40, 50, 60 points," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "She'll get the same number of delegates: Zero.")

Even as they disputed Florida's significance, both sides denied surreptitiously campaigning in violation of the pledge.

The Clinton campaign pointed out that fundraising behind closed doors was expressly permitted.

Strategists for Obama said his 60-second spot, which began airing last week, is part of a national TV buy, running on cable networks in 49 states besides Florida.

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who is also on the Florida ballot, stayed out of the state and steered clear of the back-and-forth.

Democrats have the Florida Legislature to thank for their uncomfortable situation.

Frustrated over the enormous influence of smaller states, Republicans last year pushed through a bill establishing today's primary date, even though it ignored the voting guidelines set by the two major parties. In response, the Democratic National Committee voted to strip Florida of its delegates to the party's national nominating convention. The GOP punished Florida by taking away half its delegates.

Undeterred, the leading Republican presidential candidates have campaigned across the state virtually nonstop for the past nine days. Florida now promises to stamp one of them -- most likely Sen. John McCain of Arizona or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- as the favorite for the party's nomination.

But the no-campaign pledge, pushed by Democrats in earlier-voting states, rendered its ethnic enclaves and stucco suburbs off-limits to the party's presidential hopefuls.

Steve and Tracie Fitzgerald, a Florida couple in their 40s, had to settle for seeing former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani -- a Republican -- during a stop Sunday at Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach.

Steve, an independent, and Tracie, a Democrat, expressed disappointment at the absence of Democratic contenders. "People want their views known," Steve Fitzgerald said.

However, the eventual Democratic winner is expected to override the national party's action in time for this summer's nominating convention. That would enable Florida to seat its full complement of 210 delegates and 31 alternates -- and eliminate any hard feelings as the Democrats fight to carry the state in the fall.

"I've never seen a reporter standing in a cornfield in November saying, 'It all comes down to Iowa.' Nobody cares what happens in Iowa," said Joe Garcia, chairman of the Democratic Party in Miami-Dade County. "With a woman or an African American at the top of the ticket, show me another Southern state they're going to carry, except Florida. We're going to see a lot of them from the end of February on."

After losing badly to Barack Obama in South Carolina, Hillary Rodham Clinton simply switched locales and opponents Monday, campaigning in Hartford against President Bush.

It was a good choice.

Her standing-room audience of 1,000 in Hartford, where the only local elections that matter are Democratic primaries, wildly applauded each gibe at the Republican president.

"All of you know that tonight is a red-letter night in American history," Clinton said, smiling in anticipation of the coming applause line. "It is the last time George Bush will give the State of the Union address."

The gymnasium at the Learning Corridor, a magnet-school complex in a Latino neighborhood near Trinity College, rocked with applause for nearly 60 seconds.

"Next year," Clinton said, her smile broadening, "it'll be a Democratic president."

Clinton never mentioned Obama in a 90-minute stop in Hartford, where the Democratic town committee has endorsed Obama, and the mayor, Eddie A. Perez, and congressman, John Larson, are neutral.

Some of her supporters were pleased by the new tack, even though they were unsure if it represented a respite or a permanent change in the countdown to the more than 20 Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses on Feb. 5.

Rep. Jason Bartlett of Bethel, co-chairman of the Clinton campaign in Connecticut, said no one wanted to see a continuation of the tensions on display last week in South Carolina between Clinton and Obama.

"I think that's true throughout the party," Bartlett said.

Clinton, who stopped in Hartford and Springfield, then flew to Washington for a Senate vote and the State of the Union, bounced on the balls of her feet Monday as she waited for Comptroller Nancy Wyman and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to finish their introductions.

She smiled and gestured to familiar faces in the audience as Blumenthal, who attended Yale Law School with Clinton and her husband, stressed her connections to Connecticut as a New York senator.

The event was billed as a town hall meeting on "Solutions for the American Economy," but her speech touched on a litany of Democratic issues: the economy, health care, the war in Iraq, and education.

A podium with a placard, "Solutions for the American Economy," disappeared during her introduction. For the next hour, she roamed a small stage, holding a wireless microphone.

Clinton returned repeatedly to the incumbent president, who is seen by his own party as a drag on the GOP in 2008.

"I'm sure that the president tonight will, as he has for the previous seven years, say that the state of our union is strong," Clinton said. "With all due respect, Mr. President, come out on the road with me."

Clinton said Americans are dispirited by years of stagnant wages, drift in Washington and stark inequities in the economy and tax code.

Wall Street managers "making $50 million a year should not pay a lower percentage than a teacher in Hartford making $50,000 a year," Clinton said.

"One thing that President Bush has never understood — the state of the union is not about a speech in Washington," Clinton said. "It is about the state of the lives of the American people."

Clinton spoke for nearly a half hour, took questions from the audience for about 20 minutes, and then lingered to sign autographs before leaving at 12:05 p.m. for an event at Springfield College.

She told one young questioner who asked about global warming that she would convene an international conference of greenhouse-gas producers.

Stephen Shapiro, 65, of Middletown, who wore a red AARP T-shirt, stood in the last row, waving for her attention.

"Sen. Clinton, what will you do to make drugs affordable to all Americans?" yelled Shapiro, part of a national AARP effort to question the presidential candidates.

"No. 1, let's give Medicare the right to negotiate drug prices," Clinton said.

Congress barred such negotiations when it authorized the Medicare D drug coverage program. She called the bar "a huge loophole that Republicans insisted on."

Shapiro said later her answer was inadequate.

Another questioner was a single mother who says she earns $45,000 a year and is uncertain how she will be able to afford college for her son.

Clinton said she would provide a $3,500 credit. She also has proposed expanding grant programs and forgiving college loans for graduates who go into teaching.

Jackie Jamsheed of West Hartford questioned her on economic stimulus proposals that would give taxpayers rebates.

Such spending would go to stores like Wal-Mart, which stock their shelves with goods from overseas, Jamsheed said.

"So, it seems like it is an economic stimulus package for China, not for us," Jamsheed said.

Jamsheed said later she was an enthusiastic Clinton supporter, though she won't be able to cast a vote for her next week. Jamsheed is a Republican.

In a presentation 10 days ago to the Republican National Committee, pollster Neil S. Newhouse painted a dark picture for the GOP, saying Democrats are favored by voters on a wide range of issues.

But he offered hope, since Bush will not be on the ballot and Clinton, whose disapproval ratings edge above 40 percent, very well could be.

That is the case that Obama's supporters in Connecticut tried to make Monday afternoon, arguing that Clinton's "electability" problems could jeopardize Democratic office-holders in marginal districts.

It's not an argument that concerns Democrats in every marginal district: One of those lawmakers is Bartlett, Clinton's co-chairman.

By MARK PAZNIOKAS, The Hartford Courant, January 29, 2008

California is among 24 states taking part in "Super Tuesday," the February 5 contests in which voters will choose nominees from the Democratic and Republican parties for the November presidential election.

Following are a few facts about California and its primary, the biggest prize in terms of delegates:

* California is the most populous state, with more than 15 million registered voters, and has the eighth-largest economy in the world. Candidates will have to abandon the face-to-face "retail" politics they practiced in small states like New Hampshire and Iowa and reach voters through advertising and news coverage.

* Polls show Democratic New York Sen. Hillary Clinton leading rival Illinois Sen. Barack Obama by an average of 9 percentage points. Among Republicans, Arizona Sen. John McCain leads Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by an average of 6.5 percent.

* California sends 441 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, and 173 delegates on the Republican side, by far the most of any state voting on Super Tuesday. The majority of these delegates are allocated based on the winner in each of the state's 53 congressional districts.

* Polls close at 11:00 P.M. EST Wednesday. Voters have been able to cast ballots by mail since January 7.

* Homeowners in the state have been hit hard by the subprime mortgage crisis. California ranks second in the nation for foreclosure filings, with inland cities like San Bernardino and Stockton especially hard hit.

* Median household income in the state is $54,385, well above the national median of $44,334. About 12.9 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, roughly in line with the national figure. The median age is 35.5, younger than the national average.

Reuters, January 31, 2008

SPRINGFIELD - Hillary Clinton stumped yesterday in Massachusetts and Connecticut, a testament to how much more significant the two states will be to this year's nomination battle after moving their primaries to be part of Super Tuesday next week.

Clinton used her platforms - gymnasiums in Springfield and Hartford packed with energized voters - to criticize President Bush in advance of last night's State of the Union address.

She barely alluded to her heated struggle with Barack Obama, who trounced her on Saturday in South Carolina's primary, and in Springfield she ignored the endorsement Senator Edward M. Kennedy was bestowing upon the Illinois senator about the same hour in Washington.

Some Clinton faithful believe that the strident critiques Hillary and Bill Clinton have rained on Obama have backfired, and there are signs that the power couple will tone down their rhetoric. Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that everyone should "take a deep breath," and supporters have told the former president that he is foremost among those who need that deep breath.

Referring to the bright sun outside Springfield College's basketball arena, where the overflow crowd was listening to her speech on outdoor speakers, Clinton said, "The heavens are smiling on us because tonight will be the last time President Bush ever gives a State of the Union address."

A couple of hours earlier in Hartford, she said she expected Bush to deem the state of the union strong. "With all due respect, Mr. President, come out on the road with me," she said. "Sit at tables in diners and hear what's on America's minds."

A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee called Clinton's comments "divisive rhetoric and political pandering."

In Springfield, Clinton also emphasized how historic it would be for her to be elected the first woman president, something she hasn't been dwelling on much in recent weeks. "I know what it's like to have to be at work and your baby wakes up sick," she said. "I have lived this and I know how hard parents today are working."

Bereft of support from Kennedy and fellow Senator John F. Kerry, who also endorsed Obama this month, Clinton did have a raft of local officials on hand, as well as three congressman - Richard Neal of Springfield, Jim McGovern of Worcester, and Stephen Lynch of South Boston.

She went out of her way to mention McGovern during her remarks because, she said, the support of the longtime Iraq war critic "honored" and "humbled" her.

Neal said in an interview that he invited Clinton to Springfield with the idea that it was a spot where she would get attention in three media markets - Springfield, Boston, and Hartford.

At one point over the weekend, it looked like Clinton would attend a fund-raiser held in her honor yesterday at the State Room in Boston. It included many of her prominent Massachusetts supporters and offered tickets between $100 and $1,000. But Clinton returned to Washington to attend Bush's State of the Union address.

The campaign said there were 2,000 people in the basketball arena in Springfield - about a quarter of which was closed off - and another 1,000 outside. The crowd greeted Clinton, who arrived an hour late, enthusiastically and gave her several standing ovations.

By Marcella Bombardieri, The Boston Globe, January 29, 2008

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Despite it being a showdown between the remaining two candidates, Thursday's Democratic debate was in marked contrast from last week's contentious face off.

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are debating for the last time before the Super Tuesday contests next week.

In their opening remarks, both candidates praised each other while highlighting distinctions between the Democrats and the Republicans.

While they tried to point out the differences in their policies, they did it without the finger-pointing of last week.

Perhaps the biggest difference in their platforms is their stance on health care.

Clinton favors mandated individual health insurance coverage for all Americans. Obama proposes a national health insurance program for individuals who do not have employer-provided health care and who do not qualify for other existing federal programs.

"I believe absolutely, passionately that we must have universal health care. It is a moral responsibility and a right for our country," Clinton said, adding that her plan is similar to that of former Sen. John Edwards, who dropped out of the race Wednesday.

His name came up frequently, as both candidates were fighting to pick up his supporters.

"It is true we've got a policy difference," said Obama. "What [people are] struggling with is they can't afford the health care, and so I emphasize reducing costs. My belief is that if we make it affordable, if we provide subsidies to those who can't afford it, they will buy it."

Thursday's event, sponsored by CNN, the Los Angeles Times and Politico.com, is the first debate without Edwards.

Obama said he thinks it's very important for to reduce the influence of lobbyists and special interests in Washington, implying that Clinton does not. "I think that a lot of issues that both Sen. Clinton and I care about will not move forward unless we have increased the kinds of ethics proposal that I passed just last year -- some of the toughest since Watergate -- and that's something that John Edwards and I both talked about repeatedly in this campaign," he said. "That's why I don't take federal PAC and federal lobbyist money. That is a difference," he said.

Edwards had campaigned on the message that he was standing up for the little guy, the people who are not traditionally given a voice in Washington, and that he would do more to fight special interests.

Obama got laughs when asked about how he might counter Republican charges against "tax-and-spend liberal Democrats."

"Well, first of all, I don't think the Republicans are going to be in a real strong position to argue fiscal responsibility, when they have added $4 trillion or $5 trillion worth of national debt. I am happy to have that argument," he said.

Clinton drew cheers when she responded to the question about how a Clinton could promote change after decades of a Clinton or Bush in power.

"It did take a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush," she said.

On immigration, Obama said that although the issue might not "poll well," it is important to recognize that "the problems that workers are experiencing generally are not primarily caused by immigration."

"If we fix our legal immigration system, then I believe we will not have this problem of undocumented workers in this country," he said.

Clinton said "we have to fix this broken system."

"When the House of Representatives passed the most mean-spirited provision that said if you were to give any help whatsoever to someone here illegally you would commit a crime, I stood up and said that would have criminalized the Good Samaritan and Jesus Christ himself," she said. "I have been on the record against this mean-spiritedness."

With the two major candidates locked in a tight race for the party's nomination, the stakes couldn't be higher.

Hours before the debate, supporters from both sides were outside the Kodak Theatre -- the site of the debate -- waving banners and cheering on their candidate.

The event is the first Democratic debate since Obama's convincing victory Saturday in South Carolina. On Tuesday, Clinton won the Florida primary, a contest her campaign said helped the senator regain momentum even though it awarded no delegates.

Clinton and Obama have split victories in their parties' early-voting states: Obama has won in Iowa and South Carolina, and Clinton has won in New Hampshire, Nevada, Michigan and Florida. But the Michigan and Florida contests awarded no delegates, and all major Democratic presidential candidates pledged to avoid campaigning in those states following national party penalties against them for moving up their contests so early.

Clinton was the only major candidate to appear on the Michigan ballot.

The forum comes hours after the Obama campaign revealed it had raised $32 million in January from roughly 170,000 new donors. That amount will allow Obama to expand his television ad buys greatly in the 20-plus states holding primaries or caucuses Tuesday.

The Clinton campaign would not indicate how much money it had raised in the same time period.

Mike Gravel, the other Democratic presidential candidate still in the race, was not invited to participate in the debate because he did not meet certain criteria, including support in national polls. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted January 14-17, Gravel received less than 1 percent.

Clinton and Obama last faced off before the South Carolina primary. The debate was marked by numerous contentious exchanges, while Edwards struggled to get his voice heard.

The economy is likely to dominate Thursday's debate, as it did in the GOP debate the night before.

The debate may be slightly more restrained than last week's brutal showdown. Following her South Carolina loss, Clinton has largely steered clear of opportunities to take aim at Obama.

But in the hours leading up to the debate, Clinton's staffers ramped up recent accusations that Obama's team is engaged in negative campaigning.

Such accusations have dominated the Democratic presidential campaign in recent weeks, with Obama accusing both Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, of engaging in unfair attacks. The Clinton campaign has made similar charges against the Illinois senator, saying Obama's statements on the campaign trail, mailings and ads have distorted Clinton's record.

Obama is leading Clinton in the number of pledged delegates -- those awarded based on primary or caucus votes. Clinton has the edge when superdelegates are factored in. (Superdelegates are party leaders and elected officials who are not obligated to support a particular candidate. They can change their decisions at any time leading up to the Democratic National Convention in August.)

To date, Obama has won an estimated 63 national convention delegates as a result of primary or caucus votes, while Clinton has earned an estimated 48 delegates. However, when superdelegates are included, Clinton has 232 overall delegates to Obama's 158.

With solid fundraising numbers and a nod from Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts this week, Obama will be making the claim he holds the front-runner title. But Clinton -- who has led in national surveys for much of the race -- will be making her case as well.

By Rebecca Sinderbrand, CNN, January 31, 2008

In the theater where Academy Awards are doled out by the handful, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen Hillary Clinton seem to be competing for an award of their own Thursday night --most congenial candidate.

Both made early plays for supporters of John Edwards, who bowed out of the race in a week that has seen record breaking fundraising, major endorsements, and the launch of dueling 22 state campaigns in advance of Super Tuesday.

But with some polls narrowing in major states, including California and New York and cantankerous exchanges in South Carolina, the candidates played nice, stuck to the issues and tried to carve out policy minor differences during a debate televised on CNN.

The candidates have spent much of their time debating immigration reform and health care.

"Ted Kennedy said he is confident that we will get universal health care with me as president," Obama said, adding that he would broadcast party negotiations over health care on C-Span. "I am committed to making sure that anyone in America who wants health care will get it."

CNN moderator asked Obama if his promise of open conversations about health care was a swipe at Clinton, but he said no.

"We have to regulate the health insurance industry differently, they have to cover everyone," Clinton said. "As Democrats we carry the banner of universal health care."

Obama raised a record $32 million in Jan. and added 224,00 new donors, according to an e-mail sent out to supporters. He also picked up this week endorsements from Sen. Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, and the California-based United Healthcare Workers

Recent polls have shown Clinton leading in delegate-rich states, like New York which offers 232 and California, with 370. Obama, however, is narrowing the gap and is expected to do well in the South and win Illinois his home state.

By NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, Newsday, January 31, 2008

Students make coffee shop standing room only

With just one week to go before Super Tuesday and the Missouri primary, presidential campaigns are in a full swing effort to reach voters in critical states before time runs out. This down-to-the-wire operation brought Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, to St. Louis Monday afternoon to campaign for her mother in what was a rare occurrence for the younger Clinton.

Before a packed house at Kayak's Coffee, across the street from the University, the 27-year-old held a town hall-style question and answer session in which she responded to inquiries and concerns covering a wide variety of topics.

To open the event, Ms. Clinton took a question from a Washington University student concerning the rising costs of higher education.

"My mother wouldn't be where she is today without the educational she was able to receive," Ms. Clinton said. "She understands the difficulties and has a plan to change the system."

Ms. Clinton said that her mother, if elected, would double Pell Grant awards to $10,800 for both undergraduate and graduate students, give each student a $3,500 tax credit, and pledged to end the FAFSA paperwork system, offering an alternative way to apply for federal aid through federal income taxes returns.

The day-to-day battle for the nomination also came through in Ms. Clinton's language.

"We don't see past February 5," Ms. Clinton responded when asked about running mates. "On February 5 we'll look towards February 12."

Ms. Clinton's public appearances are a rather recent addition to her mother's embattled campaign, which suffered a significant loss to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday. Ms. Clinton has typically maintained a silent presence on the campaign trail, but has recently started a tour of universities to try to attract younger voters to Senator Clinton's cause, who have been a strength of the Obama campaign.

Ms. Clinton appeared at the University of Missouri-St. Louis earlier on Monday and this new direction was evident in her Wash. U. stop.

"So much of this campaign is to get young people to vote-people from our generation," said Ms. Clinton. "We need to emphasize the values that matter to us."

Washington University students who made the short trek to Kayak's Coffee for the session reacted positively to Ms. Clinton's visit, and some undecided voters, including freshman Ayla Karamustafa, said that Ms. Clinton's words may have strong influence on young voters in the days before Missouri's Super Tuesday primary.

"I think she answered questions as best as she could and she seemed pretty knowledgeable about everything. I'm glad that she took her time out to do this because I think it's going to affect a lot of people," said Karamustafa. "I was undecided before I came, and it's between Barack and Hillary for me. I'm still deciding but I would say right now that it's 51 [percent] for Hillary, 49 for Barack."

Sophomore Bobby Harvey, who currently favors Obama, said that he would not change his vote, but Chelsea Clinton's words made him more comfortable with the possibility of Senator Clinton winning the Democratic nomination.

"I was really impressed with her ability to speak about her mom's issues," said Harvey. "I also feel really comfortable now that if Hillary wins the candidacy, then I definitely feel strongly that I can support her."

In general, students felt that Ms. Clinton did a good job of empathizing with young voters.

"She definitely showed that she cared about us, that Hillary cared about us," said Harvey.

"She did a really good job answering questions," said sophomore Leah Blake, who is still an undecided voter. "It's good to see the Clinton campaign reaching out to young voters."

Some students did not sing similar praise for the question-answer session.

"She didn't actually address my question," said junior Ross Zeitlin, who asked about health care system benefits and the effects of Senator Clinton's health care plan on health care providers. "But I am still leaning toward Clinton."

In addition to the special focus on the importance of younger voters, Ms. Clinton fielded questions regarding the war in Iraq, environmental issues, the housing crisis, foreign policy, immigration and national security.

To tie into more recent trends, Ms. Clinton also addressed what role her father, former President Bill Clinton, plays in her mother's campaign.

"I don't think you should vote for my mom because of my dad," she said, answering a voter's question about her father's role in the election. "And I don't think you should vote against her because of my dad. I think you should judge her for her own merits."

Above all else, Ms. Clinton emphasized the importance of voting in the process.

"Part of being a good citizen means voting," she said. "This is your voice."



By Mark Dudley, Student Life, January 29, 2008

LOS ANGELES - The conventional political wisdom in delegate-rich California is that the roughly three million registered voters without a party affiliation are ripe for the picking by the Democratic candidates for president.

Democrats began allowing independents to participate in their party's presidential primary in 2004, and campaigns now see them - the fastest-growing group of registrants in California - as potentially pushing a candidate over the top in the primary on Feb. 5.

"We think that is a perfect target for us," Mitchell Schwartz, the California director for Senator Barack Obama's campaign, said of the pool of independent voters.

But the quirky ways of the state's independent voters combined with the cumbersome process for voting in the primary may make them far less relevant than expected.

"The whole effect of the participation and influence of the independent voter is a bit overblown in California," said Mark DiCamillo, the director of the California Field Poll.

In the 2004 presidential primary, out of 2.5 million independent residents registered to vote - their party affiliation is officially listed as "decline to state" - only 207,000 voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, or 8 percent of all votes cast that year, according to figures from the California secretary of state.

(Republicans only allow their own party members to vote; the state's American Independent Party also allows decline-to-state voters to cast ballots in its primary, but the party's presence is very small.)

Polling and party experts expect more decline-to-state voters to cast ballots in the Democratic contest on Feb. 5 because the primary comes earlier than in prior years and there is a dynamic race between Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runners nationally. Still, these voters do not offer the reliable support on which campaigns depend.

"The first thing is that nonpartisans as a group are occasional voters," Mr. DiCamillo said. "They are not as engaged in politics. They view the parties as being too partisan and migrated to nonpartisan."

It is also true that decline-to-state voters must be quite motivated - and knowledgeable - to cast a ballot in the Democratic primary. The voters must ask for a Democratic ballot at their polling station; otherwise, they are provided with a nonpartisan ballot that has statewide measures only.

And if they vote by mail, as a great many Californians do, these voters must request a Democratic ballot in writing.

"If you do nothing, you get a nonpartisan ballot," Mr. DiCamillo said. "That is a proactive step that is a hurdle."

County registrars are supposed to inform the independent voters that they have a right to a Democratic ballot, but each does so differently, leaving many voters with no idea they can participate in the primary.

"We do get people after an election saying, 'I wanted to vote a partisan ballot, and I got this nonpartisan ballot,' " said Steve Weir, the vice president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials.

Of the other 23 states with primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5, nine have open primaries and three have semi-open ones. Each state has its own rules and nuances, but the process in most of them is far less complicated than in California.

Bruce E. Cain, a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, said it required a lot of work for a campaign in California to make the independent voters important. A candidate needs "to target the decline-to-state voters, remind them that they can participate, and tell them how," Professor Cain said.

Both Obama and Clinton campaign officials said they were doing that, but that it was a complex battle in a place where, compared with a state like New Hampshire, voters were less informed about the ins and outs of the primary process.

"It's very hard, frankly," said Mr. Schwartz of the Obama campaign. "In an open primary like New Hampshire, especially, people know they can vote." He said the Democratic Party "should be doing a ton more" to reach out to the independents.

State Democratic Party officials said they did the best they could with a limited budget and competing interests. Separately from the party efforts, the Courage Campaign, a so-called 527 group, plans to call or e-mail 300,000 registered decline-to-state voters in California to remind them that they can vote Democratic.

Republican frontrunners John McCain and Mitt Romney are locked in a battle to win today's Florida primary and gain critical momentum ahead of next week's Super Tuesday elections.

Latest polls in the Sunshine State showed the pair in a tie, with Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee trailing behind.

The closeness of the fight was evident in the acrimonious nature of the last couple of days of campaigning, with McCain and Romney attacking one another at last-minute campaign rallies.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The battle for the White House is hitting full throttle ahead of next week's 22-state "Super Tuesday" contests, but the February 5 nominating bonanza -- the biggest in in US history -- was unlikely to finalize party nominees.

For Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and surviving Republicans, close combat in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina is just a memory, as they launch week-long campaign blitzes.

Territory on offer ranges from liberal bastions like Massachusetts in the north to the deeply conservative southern states of Alabama and Georgia.

Also in play are voters from frozen state of Alaska to Arizona's parched deserts, along with anything-goes California on the US left coast.

Harried campaign chiefs face unprecedented challenges: multi-million dollar nationwide ad blitzes will drain campaign war chests and gruelling plane trips will keep candidates' nerves taut.

The blizzard of contests long had been seen as the day when Republican and Democratic nominations would be decided, but the races are so tight that coronations are unlikely.

At stake on the Democratic side will be 1,700 of the 4,049 delegates to the party's national convention this August in Denver, Colorado. A total of 2,025 are needed for the nomination.

Clinton and Obama are waging a tense contest, with former senator John Edwards hoping to pick up enough delegates to be kingmaker in the event of a deadlocked convention.

Further complicating the electoral equation are nearly 800 "superdelegates" -- unpledged party officials and luminaries who will have a vote in Denver without going through any popular selection process.

Republicans are competing Tuesday for more than 1,000 of the 1,191 delegates needed for the nomination at their convention in September in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Should Rudolph Giuliani not win Tuesday's Florida primary, the race will likely boil down to a two-man bout between Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

"No one has tried to do this before. We are all in uncharted territory," Clinton said in Memphis, Tennessee Sunday.

Among Democrats, the "Super Tuesday" map appears to offer the former first lady a slim advantage over Obama, with whom she has split the first four contests.

She has a steady double-digit lead in polls in California, which has most delegates -- 370 -- up for grabs on Tuesday.

New York, her home Senate patch, is the second biggest prize with 232 delegates. New Jersey is just next door, and another key prize, Arkansas, is where husband ex-president Bill Clinton was governor.

Latest RealClearPolitics poll averages show Clinton ahead in New York and New Jersey by 22 percent and 18 percent respectively, and she heads national polls by 9.4 percent.

Obama, despite a landslide in Saturday's South Carolina primary, is downplaying expectations.

"The Clinton operation is a tough, well-honed political machine built up over the course of 20 years," he said.

"We have always been the underdogs in this campaign; we have always been the outsiders, the insurgent campaign."

Even so, Obama's camp is confident it will be in the driving seat by late on Super Tuesday.

"We believe it is unlikely that this race will be decided on February 5," said campaign manager David Plouffe in a memo, but forecast a rough split of delegates would help Obama beat Clinton in a race to the tape.

Obama has another disadvantage on February 5 -- his triumphs in Iowa and South Carolina were partly fueled by electric public appearances, and followers fired up by soaring speeches.

But now he has only eight days to cast his spell countrywide, and his magnetism may be diluted by television, where much of the campaign will be fought.

Had delegates in Clinton's powerbase states been doled out on a winner-take-all basis, the race may have been hers by next week.

But, under a labyrinthine Democratic system of partial proportional representation, candidates can gather small hauls of delegates even in states unfavorable to them.

Super Tuesday poses harsh questions for Republicans, struggling to finance campaigns from a core powerbase unimpessed with their choices, but their map is much simpler, with most states winner-take-all.

Obama is hoping to dominate in states like Alabama and Georgia with large black populations and has built a grass-roots movement, firing up students, independents and first-time voters.

Clinton hopes to gain an edge by driving women to the polls, and is popular among white-collar workers and the exploding Hispanic population -- especially in California.

AFP, January 29, 2008

I'm a Hillary cynic, so what am I doing standing out here in the cold, near the end of a block-long line down Vernon Street?

Because there's something more here than Bill's blathering and the right wing's misogynist obsession with Hillary Clinton. Standing here with my notebook, freezing fingers and moronic questions, I realize how much I've been missing.

Obama may be surging and Uncle Ted endorsing, but there's still something powerful going on out here with Hillary. Are we missing this? I have been.

Monday morning I was surround by hundreds of people, including Obama supporters, who asked me how I could be anyplace else than waiting on a chilly sidewalk, hoping to catch a glimpse and a few words from the candidate.

We're talking about an election where the next president will very likely be a woman or a black man, if the Democrats don't blow it. Hundreds of women reminded me Monday I'd better not sleep through history.

I met Lisa Levy, a 51-year-old lawyer who was driving to work Monday morning and took an unplanned detour over to the Learning Corridor at Trinity College when she heard on the radio that Clinton was speaking in Hartford.

"This is historic," she explained simply, words repeated to me by dozens of other people over the next two hours.

"I've been active in politics all my life. This is one of the most exciting years," said Phyllis K. Burns, a 79-year-old Hartford resident, who told me she was still undecided.

Kelly Krug, 28, of West Hartford, ducked out of work and got a picture of Clinton waving to the crowds as she arrived.

"I came just to see Hillary speak," Krug said. "I think she's a strong female."

I saw working moms, grandmothers, professional women, college kids and even a teacher who brought her students.

Michelle Mills, a flight attendant just off a plane, drove up from Derby. "She has paid her dues," Mills said, patiently answering my simplistic questions. "There's a lot of women here. I'm not surprised."

When the fire marshal shut the doors of the auditorium, hundreds of us still waiting in line shuttled into the cafeteria. Or rather it was me and what seemed like 250 women of all ages. At least none of them had heard my foolish pronouncements at work lately that I could "never" vote for Hillary Clinton for president.

Here were thoughtful people who deeply believe in and care about the first serious female contender for the presidency.

"I drove an hour and a half to wait an hour standing in the bitter cold," said Tess Foley of Monroe. "I am 2,000 percent behind Hillary Clinton. She is the single most prepared candidate."

I saw a woman crying and mothers who had taken their sons out of school to come and listen. George Jackson, a 65-year-old black man from Marlborough standing on a chair, leaned down and offered some man-to-man advice: It's time, he said, for "a lady to straighten this country out."

"This lady has been around," said Jackson, who runs a window-cleaning business. "She can endure."

Then, as we waited for Hillary and her Secret Service phalanx to pass through the cafeteria, I got to talking with Naomi Klein and Sally Gross of West Hartford, fast friends for 65 years and graduates of the old Weaver High School.

"There has been nothing like this ever before," said Gross, who is 82 and a Clinton supporter. "The whole thing is exciting."

"We've come a long way," Gross told me. "Why not?"

I'm not with Hillary yet, Sally. But no more cynicism.




By Rick Green, The Hartford Courant, January 29, 2008

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will duel for Super Tuesday votes Thursday night as the Democratic presidential hopefuls face off for the first time together minus former Sen. John Edwards.

The debate -- sponsored by CNN, the Los Angeles Times and Politico -- starts at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on CNN and CNN.com. CNN's Wolf Blitzer is the moderator.

The event is the first Democratic debate since Obama's convincing victory Saturday in South Carolina. On Tuesday, Clinton won the Florida primary, a contest her campaign said helped the senator regain momentum even though it awarded no delegates.

The forum at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood comes hours after the Obama campaign revealed it had raised $32 million in January from roughly 170,000 new donors. That amount will allow Obama to expand his television ad buys greatly in the 20-plus states holding primaries or caucuses Tuesday.

The Clinton campaign would not indicate how much money it had raised in the same time period.

Mike Gravel, the other Democratic presidential candidate still in the race, was not invited to participate in the debate because he did not meet certain criteria, including support in national polls. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted January 14-17, Gravel received less than 1 percent.

Edwards suspended his presidential run Wednesday in New Orleans, Louisiana, but he didn't endorse any candidate despite what aides described as furious lobbying campaigns by Obama and Clinton.

Thursday's debate may be slightly more restrained than last week's brutal showdown. Following her South Carolina loss, Clinton has largely steered clear of opportunities to take aim at Obama.

Former President Bill Clinton also has avoided criticizing his wife's rival after dominating headlines with his attacks in the days before the South Carolina vote.

The economy is likely to dominate Thursday's debate, as both candidates look to appeal to supporters of Edwards and his brand of economic populism.

Clinton and Obama have split victories in their parties' early-voting states: Obama has won in Iowa and South Carolina, and Clinton has won in New Hampshire, Nevada, Michigan and Florida. But the Michigan and Florida contests awarded no delegates, and all major Democratic presidential candidates pledged to avoid campaigning in those states following national party penalties against them for moving up their contests so early.

Clinton was the only major candidate to appear on the Michigan ballot.

Obama is leading Clinton in the number of pledged delegates -- those awarded based on primary or caucus votes. Clinton has the edge when superdelegates are factored in. (Superdelegates are party leaders and elected officials who are not obligated to support a particular candidate. They can change their decisions at any time leading up to the Democratic National Convention in August.)

To date, Obama has won an estimated 63 national convention delegates as a result of primary or caucus votes, while Clinton has earned an estimated 48 delegates. Clinton, however, has the overall lead in delegates -- 232 to 158 -- when superdelegates are included.

With solid fundraising numbers and a nod from Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts this week, Obama will be making the claim he holds the front-runner title. But Clinton -- who has led in national surveys for much of the race -- will be making her case as well.

By Rebecca Sinderbrand, CNN, January 31, 2008

With no clear front-running presidential nominee in either party, political scientists and analysts agree youth voter participation has had an increased impact in the primary season and has particularly affected the race for the Democratic ticket.

Youth voters are generally those individuals between the ages of 18 and 25, although the category is expanded in some cases to between 18 and 30, said several University of California professors.

"The basic idea is people in school, or just out of school, or beginning adult life," said Bruce Cain, executive director at the UC Washington Center of the age demographic that captures the youth group.

Youth voter participation in this election has been mostly attributed to the candidacy of Barack Obama, who gains much of his support from younger voters, said Jack Citrin, professor of political science at UC Berkeley.

"I think Obama's appeal to youth is on the basis of style and general appeal to idealism, change, something different," he said.

Obama has also been popular among younger voters because he has maintained a platform of being against the status quo, said Matthew Baum, associate professor of political science at UCLA.

"In any other year, Hillary Clinton would (have been) the most amazing thing. But because of Obama, the novelty of a candidate being female has been replaced by the novelty of the candidate being African American," Baum said.

Obama has also been seen by voters as being able to restore the idealism in the Democratic Party, which was not a focus of the politics in the 1990s, Cain said.

However, Cain also said the amount of youth support that led to Sen. Obama's win in the Iowa caucus has not yet been paralleled, although there is potential for such an occurrence in California because of the open primary system.

In general, Cain said, young voters are responsive to idealism and charisma in candidates.

In light of the Iowa caucus in which youth voter turnout was a significant factor contributing to Sen. Obama's victory, Sen. Clinton has made efforts to increase her appeal among younger voters.

Clinton traveled with younger voters before the New Hampshire primary. Recently, her daughter Chelsea Clinton has also campaigned by visiting several colleges, including UCLA.

Cain said these efforts have helped stabilize Sen. Clinton's campaign, and she was able to rally young women to support her before winning the New Hampshire primary.

Teddy Schwartz, president of Bruins for Hillary, said there has been an increase in the number of members since Chelsea Clinton's visit.

Citrin and Baum, however, both said that Sen. Clinton's recent efforts to reach out to younger voters will not have a significant impact overall.

"Her daughter is certainly an asset, but it's a marginal asset, because at the end of the day, people know Hillary Clinton, and they are going to make up their mind about her," Baum said.

On the Republican side, there has been significantly less involvement from young voters, said several UC professors.

Citrin said this is because the Republican race has not yet established clear front-runners.

The exception, Cain said, has been Ron Paul, who is not being perceived as a front-runner but has gained a lot of support among younger Republicans.

"It's because he has a very ideological perspective and he is No. 1 against the Iraq War and would pull back our troops, which is something that is very popular among younger conservatives," said Mark Stefanos, marketing director for Bruin Republicans.

Cain said that the reason for generally low participation rates for young voters is twofold.

First, young voters are generally less invested in political issues. Second, as a result of moving around frequently, yung voters might have to register multiple times, Cain said.

In this election however, youth voter turnout has exceeded previous trends.

"To date, in recent elections, we wouldn't say the youth vote has been critical or particularly targeted, but there has been potential in this election," Cain added.

Baum said that while the impact of young voters in the primaries is clear, it remains uncertain if their enthusiasm will translate into the general election.

"The more they come out, the more they'll be heard," Baum said.




By Neha Jaganathan, Daily Bruin, January 28, 2008

Clinton, Obama Aides Reach Out to Edwards Backers

FAJARDO, Puerto Rico -- As the race for the Democratic presidential nomination raged on in South Carolina and across the country this weekend, America's top trial lawyers became the focal point of a different aspect of the campaign at a seaside resort here.

At a kickoff reception for the lawyers' winter conference, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, slapped backs and clinked glasses poolside for hours. "I talked to everyone down there, including the waiters," he said as he headed for another reception.

Upstairs, at a mahogany-paneled martini bar, Sen. Barack Obama's finance director, Julianna Smoot, was huddled with a group of Florida attorneys whose hearts, if no longer their inner handicappers, were still with former senator John Edwards, the candidate they all called "Johnny."

With South Carolina primary returns showing Edwards a distant third, McAuliffe and Smoot both sensed an opportunity: Some of the Democratic Party's most prolific fundraisers were looking for a new candidate to get behind.

So in conference rooms, at the casino and by the pool, the Obama and Clinton finance officials engaged in what could only be described as a campaign within the campaign, this one targeting financial backers instead of voters.

Their efforts come at a critical time. While the two Democrats have each raised more than $100 million over the past year, they have now spent the vast majority of that money. They are just days from the mega-primaries scheduled for Feb. 5 and need to feed enormous field operations and a television advertising budget that is already consuming more than $2 million every day.

Clinton and Obama have recognized that this stage of the campaign will require a fresh team of bundlers -- supporters who can not only donate their own money but also gather scores of $2,300 checks from friends and colleagues. The logical place to turn is to their struggling -- and in some cases, vanquished -- rivals.

The delicate task of poaching top donors from other Democratic candidates actually began about two months ago, when it became increasingly clear that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sens. Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph R. Biden Jr. would not be able to break through with voters.

Top fundraisers for Clinton and Obama took the names of key financial supporters from those campaigns, and they began some tentative appeals.

Michael Stratton, a Denver political consultant who had been a top fundraiser for Richardson, said he started getting calls before the New Hampshire primary. The first came from McAuliffe, who told him "we need you with us if Bill [Richardson] is going to get out," Stratton said.

A day later, Stratton heard from Thomas Hoog, a friend who had served as Gary Hart's chief of staff, and who now was helping recruit support for Obama. Hoog tried to paint the campaign as a rerun of the 1984 contest, with Obama taking on Hart's role as the young, fresh-thinking outsider. "This is new blood," Hoog told Stratton, conjuring memories of their work together for Hart. "Another time for change."

"I wasn't eager to go somewhere different," Stratton said. "But they were planting the seeds."

On Jan. 10, the day Richardson announced he was leaving the race, Stratton's phone rang again. It was Bill Clinton. They talked for several minutes, with Clinton emphasizing that Stratton could play a crucial role going into Feb. 5. "He said there was still a lot of money to be raised, and it would be a major factor in who prevails coming down the stretch here," Stratton said. The former president closed the deal. Stratton scheduled a Denver fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on Jan. 30, with her husband as the headliner.

WASHINGTON (AP) - So close, yet so far away - and so bitter.

Rival Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama came within a foot of each other just before President Bush's State of the Union speech Monday night and managed not to acknowledge each other, and certainly not touch.

Clinton, clad in scarlet, crossed the aisle between their seats on the House floor and reached out a hand to greet Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Democratic icon whose endorsement she had courted only to lose it to Obama.

Kennedy shook her hand while Obama, wearing a dark suit and standing between the two, turned away.

The rivals then retreated to their seats, only the aisle and four senators between them.

It was the latest chapter in the increasingly nasty fight between the two leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination and capped a dramatic day.

Hours earlier, Obama received the endorsements of Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy, the brother and daughter, respectively, of President John F. Kennedy. They were joined by Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., the senator's son.

The only Republican senator still running, John McCain of Arizona, skipped the address to campaign in Florida.

By Laurie Kellman, The Associated Press, January 28, 2008

CHICAGO (AP) - An indicted businessman who poured thousands of dollars into the campaigns of Barack Obama and other politicians was jailed Monday after prosecutors disclosed he received $3.5 million from an Iraqi billionaire while claiming to be broke.

Real estate developer and fast-food entrepreneur Antoin "Tony" Rezko was arrested Monday at his home in Wilmette and held after his attorneys failed to dissuade Judge Amy J. St. Eve from revoking his $2 million bond.

"This defendant has played a shell game and I think misled the court about what his assets are," federal prosecutor Reid J. Schar said.

Rezko is charged with scheming to pressure companies seeking state business for kickbacks and campaign contributions.

His name has surfaced in the Democratic presidential race because of his ties to Obama, who ended up donating to charity thousands of dollars in campaign contributions connected to Rezko. During a South Carolina debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Obama of representing Rezko "in his slum landlord business" when Obama was a young Chicago lawyer.

Obama actually represented partners of Rezko's company in government-subsidized apartment rehabilitation projects, not Rezko himself. Obama says he did no more than five or six hours of work for the partners.

Rezko has contributed thousands of dollars to the campaigns of both Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich — neither of whom is accused of any wrongdoing.

Rezko is due to start trial Feb. 25 on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and attempted extortion. He is charged separately with swindling the General Electric Capital Corp. out of $10 million in the sale of a pizza restaurant business.

Obama's name has not come up in connection with any of the corruption charges swirling around Rezko. Prosecutors indicate the source of Rezko's clout was somewhere within Blagojevich's administration.

Federal prosecutors say Rezko was deceptive in leading St. Eve to allow various relatives and friends to post their property to secure his bond while claiming he was broke and living off relatives' generosity.

An FBI affidavit said Rezko actually received $3.5 million from a Lebanon-based bank account of General Mediterranean Holdings, a Luxembourg company owned by London-based Iraqi billionaire Adhmi Auchi. Rezko's attorney said Rezko has had business dealings with Auchi.

Forbes magazine listed Auchi in 2007 as the world's 279th richest man. He also has been convicted of fraud in France, the government said in a court filing seeking the warrant to arrest Rezko.

Prosecutors said in their filing that $3.5 million was wired into a fund maintained at a Chicago bank by attorneys handling Rezko's tangled finances. They said the money was later transferred into other accounts and disbursed within a week.

Some of the money was transferred directly to Rezko, some to a company he owned, some to his wife, Rita, and some to friends and relatives who had posted their homes to secure his bond, according to the filings. Rezko's legal bills also were paid with a portion of the money, they said.

A 62-acre parcel south of downtown Chicago has been described as Rezko's major asset. The judge did not require him to post it as part of his bond after he described it as not a liquid asset and of speculative value only. But the government said Rezko has since "transferred, restructured or sold" much of his interest in the property.

In one of several filings Monday, prosecutors said they have a cooperating informant who claims to have seen documents describing Rezko's transfer of "a significant portion of his 62-acre property" to General Mediterranean. The informant understood the transfer to be in exchange for General Mediterranean forgiving $20 million in debt, according to prosecutors.

St. Eve reminded Rezko that when she granted him bond, she had ordered him to keep her advised of any changes in the tract's ownership.

Defense attorney Joseph Duffy tried to take some of the blame himself, saying he may not have adequately explained to Rezko his obligations. St. Eve brushed that aside, saying Duffy was not in any way at fault.

Monday's hearing was confused at some points. Duffy told St. Eve that the $3.5 million payment from General Mediterranean had been a loan secured by Rezko's interest in the 62-acre parcel. A minute later, he interrupted the proceedings to say he had just been told that it was not.

"I am not convinced by what I am hearing today," St. Eve said.

She scheduled a hearing Tuesday for Rezko's lawyers to present any information that might persuade her to reinstate the bond.

By MIKE ROBINSON, The Associated Press, January 28, 2008

THE RACE: The presidential race for Democrats, Republicans according to USA Today/Gallup Poll

___

THE NUMBERS - DEMOCRATS

Hillary Rodham Clinton, 56 percent

Barack Obama, 28 percent

John Edwards, 11 percent

___

THE NUMBERS - REPUBLICANS

John McCain, 40 percent

Rudy Giuliani, 21 percent

Mitt Romney, 17 percent

Mike Huckabee, 11 percent

___

OF INTEREST: The Republican race, once seen as a Giuliani romp, is still wide open with only 48 percent of the voters surveyed saying they're certain to vote for their candidate - 45 percent said they could still change their mind. Twenty-one percent said they were certain to vote for McCain, compared to 11 percent for Giuliani. On the Democratic side, 70 percent said they had made up their minds compared to 25 percent who could still change their minds. Forty-five percent of Clinton supporters were certain to vote for her compared to 20 percent for Obama.

Thirty-five percent of Democratic voters said bringing new ideas to solve problems was the most important quality in a candidate and 33 percent said being able to get things done in Washington was most important. On both scores, Clinton bested Obama: 42 percent to 37 percent on new ideas and a whopping 71-17 on getting things done in Washington.

___

The USA Today/Gallup Poll was based on interviews Jan. 23-26 of 412 registered Republicans and 426 registered Democrats in New York and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The Associated Press, January 28, 2008

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton relegated her chief Democratic rival to the rhetorical sidelines Monday and focused her criticism on President Bush, saying he had lost touch with the concerns of an anxious public.

In a speech to more than 1,000 people jammed in a gymnasium, Clinton did not refer to the fight with Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. Her audience, which included an equal number listening in an adjoining room, roared with approval when the former first lady took note of the Republican president's dwindling time in office.

"Tonight is a red-letter night in American history," she said. "It is the