Super Tuesday momentum short-lived for Clinton

BY GLENN THRUSH AND KEITH HERBERT | glenn.thrush@newsday.com
keith.herbert@newsday.com

11:17 PM EST, February 9, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., makes remarks at the Virginia Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner Saturday night in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo / February 9, 2008)

Hillary Rodham Clinton had hoped her strong showing on Super Tuesday would halt Barack Obama's momentum -- but that notion was shattered Saturday as Obama scored blowouts in Washington state, Louisiana and Nebraska.

The Clinton camp had tried to downplay the widely anticipated losses as old news -- and her campaign had ceded Louisiana and Nebraska to save their resources for the bigger March 4 contests in Texas and Ohio.

But the big wins for Obama could fuel the perception that he's on a roll, and victories could be scarce for Clinton over the next few weeks if she doesn't prevail in today's closely contested Maine caucuses.

"I knew that I'd be the underdog in every contest from January to June... but then something started to happen," Obama said last night in Richmond, Va. "People want to turn the page, they want to write a new chapter in American history ... we won north, we won south, we won in between."

Obama is the favorite in Tuesday's primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, in which 238 delegates are up for grabs.

The Illinois senator scored 2-1 margins of victory in the Washington and Nebraska caucuses and was leading 53 percent to 39 percent in the Louisiana primary with about a third of precincts reporting at 10 p.m.

"Tonight there are contests in three states that the Obama campaign has long predicted they would win by large margins," Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said in an e-mail to reporters.

"Although the next several states that hold nominating contests this month are more favorable to the Obama campaign, we will continue to compete in them and hope to secure as many delegates as we can before the race turns to Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania," he added.

The best news for the former first lady, who was forced to loan her campaign $5 million in late January, came on the financial front: She has raised $10 million since Tuesday, matching Obama's torrid online fundraising pace.

It wasn't clear how Obama's victories would affect the race for delegates. Clinton led Obama 1,045 to 960 before the voting Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

Clinton owes her edge to "superdelegates," party officials who are free to select their candidate regardless of primary or caucus results.

Responding to reports that Obama was trying to woo away her superdelegates in states where he won the popular vote, Clinton suggested she, in turn, would lobby those committed to Obama in states she's won. That includes Massachusetts Sens. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

Clinton began the day in Maine, telling crowds at three campaign stops that she, not Obama, was best equipped to beat GOP front-runner John McCain, despite polls showing Obama with the best chance of defeating the Arizona senator.

"You won't have to worry about me being knocked out of the ring," Clinton said during a rally at the University of Maine. "I think I can go toe-to-toe with Senator McCain ... Who do you want to see standing on that stage in those debates against John McCain?"

Clinton also stepped up her pressure on MSNBC, a day after co-anchor David Shuster accused the former first lady of having "pimped out" her daughter Chelsea by asking her to lobby delegates and make stump appearances. Shuster, who apologized to Clinton, has been temporarily suspended.

"I am accustomed to criticism, certainly from MSNBC. I know that it goes with the territory," Clinton wrote in a letter to NBC News President Steve Capus. "... Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or halfhearted apology is sufficient."

In January, "Hardball" host Chris Matthews apologized after suggesting Clinton's career had benefited from the sympathy she gained after the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said Friday that Clinton may boycott MSNBC's Feb. 26 debate in Cleveland to protest the network's coverage.