Will Tuesday's Primaries Decide the Dems' Future?

By Pamela Mortimer

Barack Obama is hopeful. With 11 straight victories under his belt since the February 5th "Super Tuesday" primary, Obama has a good chance of snaring his party's nomination for the presidency. Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the other hand, saw "Super Tuesday 2" as a solid chance to end her opponent's winning streak.

Although Obama has won 11 victories over Clinton, the New York Senator has no intention of throwing in the towel. In fact, both campaigns admit that the battle may rage on for another month or more. The truth is that the race is just too close to call.

"We know this has been an extraordinary election. It continues to be. We’re working hard to do as well as we can," said Obama, who planned to be in San Antonio when the returns were announced.

"I’m just getting warmed up," Clinton told reporters.

Former President Bill Clinton has even stated that his wife must win both the Texas and Ohio primaries in order to keep her campaign alive. On Friday, Clinton advisers stated that a Clinton victory could indicate that Democrats are having second thoughts about Obama.

Polls showed that the race would be close in both Texas and Ohio. In order to cut into Obama's delegate count, Clinton needed to win both primaries with a sizable margin since the delegate counts are awarded proportionally.

A total of 2,025 delegates is needed to secure the Democratic nomination which will be announced at the party’s convention in late August. There are still approximately 600 delegates that will remain after Tuesday’s primaries, beginning with Wyoming caucuses this weekend and ending with the Mississippi primary to be held on March 11. Pennsylvania is the largest state yet to be conquered, with 158 delegates.

"Your voice can win an election," Obama announced at a noisy late-night rally in Houston Monday night. Then the candidate shouted his signature election refrain: "I have only one question for you: Are you fired up? Ready to go?" When the crowd roared its approval, he added: "Let’s go change the world."

Obama has been recently dogged by allegations that he was overzealous in his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, a tactic potentially orchestrated to win votes in economically hard-hit Ohio. There have also been questions raised about his ties to Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a real estate developer and fast-food magnate who has been indicted for political corruption. Rezko's indictment mentions a $10,000 contribution by a Rezko associate to the Obama campaign.

"Tony Rezko was a friend and supporter of mine for many years. These charges are completely unrelated to me, and nobody disputes that," Obama said at a news conference in San Antonio.

"There’s no dispute that he raised money for us, and there’s no dispute that we’ve tried to get rid of it," Obama said.

In regard to the close campaign being run by both sides, senior Democrats have begun to express concern that the "continuation of the bruising campaign" might prove detrimental in the confrontation with McCain, the current Republican favorite.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told Providence radio station WPRO on Monday, "We can’t go all the way through to the convention fighting with each other while McCain and the Republicans lob in whatever free shots they want." Whitehouse, a superdelegate and Clinton supporter, added, "Let’s see how Tuesday plays out, and then let’s start thinking about how we’re going to get behind a candidate."