SNEAK PEEK: 'We Do the Plugs Here'
The Democratic race is poised to stretch well beyond Super Tuesday
February 1, 2008— -- 4 days until Super Tuesday
As ABC News prepares to broadcast five hours of live coverage on Feb. 5th, it feels as if the entire primary season should be drawing to a close.
But while John McCain might be close to wrapping up the G.O.P. nomination, the Democratic race is poised to stretch well beyond Super Tuesday.
The Clinton and Obama camps are girding for a fight that will stretch at least until March 4, when Ohio and Texas vote, and perhaps until April 22 when Pennsylvania votes.
Clinton's strongest states are California, New York, and New Jersey. She also expects to be strong in Arkansas, where she served as first lady, as well as in southwestern states that have sizable Latino populations.
With John Edwards out of the race, the Clinton campaign sees an opportunity to pick up some delegates in Alabama. As a result, Clinton is going on television in the state.
(Clinton considered going up with television ads in Georgia but decided against it).
Having said all that, Clinton's own advisers say that it is unlikely that anyone is going to come out of Super Tuesday with a significant delegate lead because of how the party apportions delegates.
That's why Clinton is drilling down in 60 congressional districts that can produce additional delegates either because they are odd-delegate districts or because they are districts in places like East L.A. where Clinton thinks she might be able to crush Obama and pick up an extra delegate.
Obama's strengths are formidable: He has money galore, a lock on Illinois, Red State endorsements aplenty, and an advantage in the six states holding caucuses.
On Friday, he made inroads with superdelegates who were previously supporting John Edwards while also winning endorsements from MoveOn.org (which will make tons of calls for him), S.E.I.U.'s California chapter, and the biggest newspaper in California.
He also took it to John McCain, appealing to Democrats who have an eye on electability.
"Somewhere along the line," said Obama, "the Straight Talk Express lost some wheels."
On Sunday, when Bill Clinton is watching the Super Bowl with Bill Richardson, Obama will get another burst of free-media publicity when Oprah campaigns for him in Los Angeles. She will be joined by Michelle Obama.
This will be Oprah's first Obama event since the weekend of Dec. 8th when she stumped with the Obamas in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
As for the Republicans, Mitt Romney suggested on Friday that he would look at Super Tuesday's results before deciding whether to move on.
When asked by ABC's John Berman if there was a minimum bar he would need to reach in order to stay in the race, he said, "there may be, I just don't know what it is."
Romney noted he was hoping to do well and was ahead in some states, but that he "couldn't possibly forecast at this stage what kind of numbers I'll have coming out of Tuesday."
Per ABC's John Berman, Ursula Fahy, and Matt Stuart, it was the most circumspect Romney has been about his chances to date.
The relentless optimist sounded a bit tentative saying only, "at this stage, I expect to keep battling."
He was also asked about the enormous personal donation he has made to his campaign; $35 million through December 31st.
Romney said simply, "you have to play the hand you are dealt."
TiVo alert:
Be sure to tune into "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." George's guests will be Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.
The kicker:
"In the language of metaphor, Clinton is an essay, solid and reasoned; Obama is a poem, lyric and filled with possibility."--Los Angeles Times waxing philosophical while endorsing Barack Obama
On the campaign trail. . .
JOHN MCCAIN
-- 10:50 am ET: Attends rally with voters, Nashville, TN
-- 1:30 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Birmingham, AL
-- 5:30 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Atlanta, GA
SENATOR JOHN WARNER (campaigning for McCain)
-- 10:00 am ET: Attends 2008 Presidential Forum and Straw Poll, Hackensack, NJ
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (campaigning for McCain)
-- 9:30 am ET: Attends event with voters, Montgomery, AL
-- 10:30 am ET: Attends event with voters, Montgomery, AL
MITT ROMNEY
-- 1:00 pm ET: Attends the funeral of Gordon B. Hinckley, Salt Lake City, UT
MIKE HUCKABEE
-- 9:00 am ET: Attends rally with voters, Huntsville, AL
-- 10:30 am ET: Holds media availability, Huntsville, AL
-- 1:00 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Tuscaloosa, AL
-- 4:00 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Montgomery, AL
-- 5:15 pm ET: Holds media availability, Montgomery, AL
-- 6:00 pm ET: Participates in MTV / MySpace Presidential Debate via satellite, Montgomery, AL
As for the Democrats. . .
BARACK OBAMA
-- 9:00 am ET: Attends rally with voters, Boise, ID
-- 2:30 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Minneapolis, MN
-- 9:30 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, St. Louis, MO
HILLARY CLINTON
-- 12:00 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Los Angeles, CA
BILL CLINTON
-- 10:00 am ET: Hosts rally with voters, Huntsville, AL
-- 5:30 pm ET: Hosts rally with voters, Columbia, MO
-- 9:00 pm ET: Holds event with voters, Springfield, MO
MIKE GRAVEL
-- 6:00 pm ET: Attends fundraiser with supporters, Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, February 3, 2008
On the campaign trail. . .
JOHN MCCAIN
-- 1:00 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Fairfield, CT
MITT ROMNEY
-- Appears on This Week with George Stephanopoulos
As for the Democrats. . .
BARACK OBAMA
-- 1:15 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Wilmington, DE
-- Attends event with voters, Chicago, IL
HILLARY CLINTON
-- Appears on This Week with George Stephanopoulos
Monday, February 4, 2008On the campaign trail. . .
JOHN MCCAIN
-- 12:00 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Hamilton, NJ
MIKE HUCKABEE
-- 8:00 am ET: Attends rally with voters, Chattanooga, TN
-- 9:15 am ET: Holds media availability, Chattanooga, TN
-- 11:30 am ET: Attends rally with voters, Blountville, TN
-- 12:15 pm ET: Holds media availability, Blountville, TN
-- 3:00 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Texarkana, AR
-- 7:00 pm ET: Attends fundraiser with supporters, Little Rock, AR (Closed Press)
RON PAUL
-- 8:00 pm ET: Attends rally with voters, Minneapolis, MN
As for the Democrats. . .
BARACK OBAMA
-- Attends event with voters, Hartford, CT
-- Attends event with voters, Boston, MA
MIKE GRAVEL
-- 6:00 pm ET: Meets with voters at event, San Francisco, CA
-- 9:30 pm ET: Speaks to voters at event, San Francisco, CA
At the White House. . .
PRESIDENT BUSH
-- 10:10 am ET: Meets with his Cabinet, Washington, DC
POLITICAL NEWS STORIES AT ABCNEWS.COM
ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Oprah to Stump for Obama in California LINK
ABC's World News with Charles Gibson Reports: Does Clinton Fulfill What Women Voters Want? LINK
ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Rehashing Spygate on Capitol Hill LINK
ABC News' David Wright Reports: Clinton, Obama Avoid Fireworks in Hollywood LINK
ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: Democratic Debate: Fact Check LINK
ABC News' Sarah Amos and Jennifer Parker Report: Bill Clinton Blames Kennedy for No Child Left Behind LINK
ABC News' David Wright, Sunlen Miller and Andy Fies Report: Obama: McCain Towing Bush Administration's Line LINK
ABC News' Jennifer Parker Reports: Candidates' Theme Songs Set Campaign Tone, Message LINK
ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Buzz Maker of the Week! LINK
ABC News' Nitya Venkataraman: Spell-Checking the Way to Election Day LINK
ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: Lovely in Los Angeles LINK
ABC News' John Berman, Ursula Fahy and Matt Stuart Report: Mitt's Money LINK
ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: Bigger Than Limbaugh (in LA) LINK
ABC News' John Berman, Ursula Fahy and Matt Stuart Report: Optimistic Romney's Realism LINK
ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Huckabee's Modest Homecoming LINK
ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Huckabee Lashes Out at Romney in Oklahoma LINK
ABC News' John Hendron Reports: Bush: 'Serious Signs' Economy Is Weakening LINK
ABC News' Diane Sawyer, Jay Shaylor and Olivia Sterns Report: Laura Bush's Last Days in the White House LINK
ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: So Four NFL Quarterbacks Go to Heaven LINK
ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: MoveOn Back Obama for President LINK
ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: Coulter: I Will Vote for Hillary Over McCain LINK
ABC News' John Berman, Ursula Fahy and Matt Stuart Report: Romney's Special Gift LINK
ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: Obama's Mailer Is like Nazis in Skokie? LINK
POLITICAL VIDEO AT ABCNEWS.COM
Obama Jabs McCain on TaxesObama accuses McCain of practicing political opportunism. LINK
Dems Face Off in L.A.
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debate in Los Angeles. LINK
The Road to Super Tuesday
Rick Klein looks ahead to the biggest political primary day in U.S. history. LINK
Hasselbeck: Hill Can't Control Bill
'View' co-host argues that the candidate and her husband are one and the same. LINK
Bush: Economy Shows 'Troubling Signs'
Bush expresses his strongest concern to date over the economy. LINK
The Bottom Line on the Democratic Debate
George Stephanopoulos sums up the Clinton-Obama showdown in Hollywood. LINK
Fact-Checking Obama and Clinton
Are the Democratic front-runners contradicting themselves on their positions? LINK
Obama and Hillary Kiss and Make Up
Thursdays Democratic debate was a much friendlier affair than the previous one. LINK
The First Lady on '08 Politics
Laura Bush weighs in on the 2008 presidential campaign. LINK
Lady in Red: Laura Bush
The first lady campaigns for awareness on heart disease. LINK
Courting Conservative Voters
With their dislike of McCain and distrust of Romney, conservatives feel ignored. LINK
Super Tuesday Showdown
George Stephanopoulos reports on crucial upcoming primaries across the U.S. LINK