 |
Stevie Wonder performs ahead a rally by Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., on the eve of the Indiana primary in Indianapolis, Monday, May 5, 2008 (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) |
Today on the presidential campaign trail
IN THE HEADLINES
Obama, Clinton place their marathon nomination struggle in the hands of Indiana, N.C. voters ... McCain criticizes Obama for vote against Supreme Court chief justice ... On Letterman's "The Late Show," Clinton jokes about her top 10 reasons for loving America
------
Indiana, N.C. voters settling largest remaining contests
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- Like marathoners on their second wind, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton raced for advantage until the final hours in the campaign for the Indiana and North Carolina primaries Tuesday.
Voters in both states are settling the largest remaining contests in a Democratic presidential nomination struggle that has dragged improbably into spring.
There was little if any expectation that the primaries would settle the big, messy picture. Both Clinton and Obama predicted they'd still be campaigning in June.
Clinton, at her scrappiest when her campaign is on the line -- which it has been for weeks -- brought a full-throated roar to a series of events in a day of frantic travel spilling into the wee hours Tuesday.
A wealthy inside-Washington veteran, the former first lady worked hard to make common cause with blue-collar voters crucial to Tuesday's outcome.
"I do see you, I do hear you," she told supporters in Merrillville, Ind., speaking outside the local fire station as a dozen firefighters looked down on her from the fire truck behind her.
She pressed her proposal for a federal gas tax holiday that Obama has dismissed as a gimmick, one of the few issues where the two Democrats clearly diverge.
"It's a stunt," the Illinois senator said in Evansville. "It's what Washington does."
Obama hurtled from Indiana to North Carolina and back.
"I want your vote. I want it badly," he pleaded on a factory floor in Durham, N.C., one of many settings drawing the working-class voters he needs.
Obama capped his day with a rain-soaked, get-out-the-vote rally in Indianapolis featuring Motown legend Stevie Wonder, followed by a visit to a factory for the midnight shift change.
------
McCain castigates Obama on judges
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Republican John McCain castigated Democrat Barack Obama for voting against John Roberts as Supreme Court chief justice in a speech about the kind of judges McCain would nominate.
McCain offered an olive branch to the Christian right in a speech planned for Tuesday at Wake Forest University. The far right has been deeply suspicious of McCain, the expected GOP presidential nominee, because he has clashed with its leaders and worked against them on issues like campaign finance reform.
McCain promised to appoint judges who, in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, are likely to limit the reach of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
"They would serve as the model for my own nominees if that responsibility falls to me," McCain said in his prepared speech.
Obama likes to talk up his image as someone who works with Republicans to get things done, McCain said. Yet Obama "went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee," McCain said.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's rival, also voted against Roberts, although McCain focused his criticism on Obama.
Tuesday's primaries North Carolina and Indiana, the biggest prizes left in the nomination battle between Clinton and Obama, were likely to overshadow McCain's address. His advisers said the timing was not deliberate and that they accepted the invitation for him to speak several weeks ago.
------
Clinton jokes about her top 10 reasons for loving America
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Crisp bacon,
The Democratic presidential candidate jokingly delivered her Top 10 list on CBS' "The Late Show" on Monday, the eve of crucial primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.
Clinton poked fun at her affection for pantsuits and host David Letterman's commentary about her clothing.
Among her top 10 was No. 8 "Thanks to the Internet, I can order new pantsuits 24/7 -- there's your pantsuit joke, Dave. Are you happy now?"
A frequent guest on other late night comedy shows, she offered this No. 2 in her taped remarks: "Is this the part where I say, 'Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!'?"
No. 9 was "Canadian bacon: Soggy and chewy; American bacon: Crisp and delicious!"
And her No. 1 answer for loving the U.S. "Apparently anyone can get a talk show."
------
THE DEMOCRATS
Hillary Rodham Clinton holds an election-night event in Indianapolis. Barack Obama holds an election-night event in Raleigh, N.C.
------
THE REPUBLICANS
John McCain gives a speech at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
------
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Barack Obama inspires me to write songs ... and encourages me that we can come together and be a far greater country than ever before." -- Stevie Wonder.
------
STAT OF THE DAY:
North Carolina has voted Democratic once in the last 10 presidential elections. Jimmy Carter won the state in 1976 with 55 percent of the vote.
------
Compiled by Ann Sanner and Jerry Estill.
© Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
