Matt Collins
01-30-2008, 07:06 PM
Romney Not Ready to Commit to Big TV Buys for Super Tuesday _ a Boost for Rival McCain
By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a major boost for John McCain, Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney signaled Wednesday he's not ready to commit to a costly campaign in the states holding primaries and caucuses next week.
Several officials said that on the heels of a defeat in Tuesday's Florida primary, Romney's campaign was not attempting to purchase television advertising time in any of the states on the Super Tuesday calendar.
Instead, the former Massachusetts governor's current plans call for campaigning in California and other primary states, said the officials, who had knowledge of the internal discussions. There would be organizational efforts primarily for caucus states.
In contrast to the Republican race, which appeared to be steadily moving McCain's way. the Democratic contest was far from settled.
Former Sen. John Edwards dropped out, "so that history can blaze its path, " he said.
That was a reference to the historic race unfolding between Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former first lady, and Barack Obama, the strongest black candidate in history.
After shying away from the front-runner's label, McCain sounded increasingly confident he was close to having the prize he has sought for nearly a decade.
"There will be a clear choice this November, and I believe that my life has prepared me ... to lead this nation in the transcendent challenge of the 21st century, the great threat of the evil of radical Islamic extremism, which threatens everything we stand for and believe in," he said, sounding like a general election candidate.
McCain also gained a glowing endorsement from Rudy Giuliani, the Republican front-runner until the primaries and caucuses began four weeks ago. As he ended his own candidacy, the former New York mayor called McCain "the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States. He's an American hero."
Officials familiar with Romney's plans cautioned they could yet changes. They said that paradoxically, the Florida defeat had been followed with a particularly strong day of online fundraising. But they added that in discussions so far, the former Massachusetts governor had selected the least costly of a variety of options prepared for his review.
They commented on campaign strategy only on condition of anonymity.
One of Romney's greatest campaign strengths has been his deep pockets. A wealthy former businessman who has largely financed his own campaign, he has advertised extensively in the other primary states where he competed. His campaign spent about $3 million on television ads in Florida, where he finished second.
McCain's own television advertising plans were unclear.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul also remain in the Republican race, but the former is out of cash and the latter has proven to be a niche candidate whose greatest appeal is to the small percentage of GOP voters who oppose the Iraq War.
Republicans converged on California for an evening debate, their last before next Tuesday's round of contests with 1,023 convention delegates at stake.
Obama and Clinton battled on roughly equal footing across a vast, uncertain political landscape, Democratic primaries in 15 states and caucuses in seven more plus American Samoa with 1,681 delegates at stake on Tuesday.
Obama said it was time for a change, and he was the man to provide it.
"I know it is tempting - after another presidency by a man named George Bush - to simply turn back the clock, and to build a bridge back to the 20th century," he said in Denver.
"It's not enough to say you'll be ready from Day One - you have to be right from Day One," he added in unmistakable criticism of Clinton and her husband, who pledged during his own presidency to build a bridge to the 21st century.
The former first lady made a homecoming campaign swing through Arkansas, where she lived for 18 years, much of it while her husband was a popular governor.
She called for a cap on credit card interest rates of 30 percent, to be lowered in the future, as well as new protections for consumers who use plastic. "We need more disclosure, more transparency," she said. "We've got to go after this predatory lending."
She also called for steps to make it harder for credit card companies to raise interest rates once a card is issued.
Four weeks after the Iowa caucuses kicked off the nominating campaign, the effect of early contests has been the same in both parties - a steady winnowing of once unwieldy fields.
The likelihood was for the party races taking diverging paths over the next several weeks, the odds favoring a quick end to the Republican race and a protracted Democratic struggle.
Party rules alone make it unlikely that either the former first lady or Obama will emerge from next Tuesday with a commanding lead in the race for delegates. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats do not permit winner-take-all races.
Instead, they award delegates proportionately on the basis of the vote in each congressional district on the ballot. There are 214 involved in next's week primaries and caucuses, accounting for almost half the country. Depending on the closeness of the vote in a district, the winner and loser can easily emerge with the same number of delegates.
The opposite is true in the Republican race, where the loser in a statewide race can come away with no delegates to show for their trouble.
Thus, Arizona's 53 delegates go to the top statewide vote getter - an obvious advantage for its home-state senator, McCain. So, too, New York, with 101 delegates awarded to the statewide winner, and Giuliani eager to make sure they, too, belong to McCain.
Missouri (58 delegates), New Jersey (52) Connecticut (27) Delaware (18), also award all its delegates to the statewide winner, as do Utah (36), Montana (25) and Alaska (26).
Romney's political base of Massachusetts, with 40 delegates, is one of relatively few states to award delegates proportionately on the basis of popular vote.
Several states award their delegates winner-take-all to the top vote-getter in each congressional district.
Complicating Romney's prospects is the continued presence of Huckabee in the race. The Baptist preacher-turned-politician has shown an ability to draw votes from evangelical conservatives, effectively splitting the anti-McCain vote.
Edwards ended his second run for the White House as he began it, standing in a hurricane-ravaged neighborhood in New Orleans, pledging to make the fight against poverty "the cause of my life."
There was a more practical side to his departure, though, as seen in the instant competition that sprung up between Clinton and Obama to win the allegiance of his fundraisers and supporters - if not Edwards himself.
Addressing a small group of supporters, his wife and children at his side, Edwards said the remaining rivals had both pledged that "they will make ending poverty central to their campaign for the presidency." But he endorsed neither
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CAMPAIGN_RDP?SITE=MABED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a major boost for John McCain, Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney signaled Wednesday he's not ready to commit to a costly campaign in the states holding primaries and caucuses next week.
Several officials said that on the heels of a defeat in Tuesday's Florida primary, Romney's campaign was not attempting to purchase television advertising time in any of the states on the Super Tuesday calendar.
Instead, the former Massachusetts governor's current plans call for campaigning in California and other primary states, said the officials, who had knowledge of the internal discussions. There would be organizational efforts primarily for caucus states.
In contrast to the Republican race, which appeared to be steadily moving McCain's way. the Democratic contest was far from settled.
Former Sen. John Edwards dropped out, "so that history can blaze its path, " he said.
That was a reference to the historic race unfolding between Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former first lady, and Barack Obama, the strongest black candidate in history.
After shying away from the front-runner's label, McCain sounded increasingly confident he was close to having the prize he has sought for nearly a decade.
"There will be a clear choice this November, and I believe that my life has prepared me ... to lead this nation in the transcendent challenge of the 21st century, the great threat of the evil of radical Islamic extremism, which threatens everything we stand for and believe in," he said, sounding like a general election candidate.
McCain also gained a glowing endorsement from Rudy Giuliani, the Republican front-runner until the primaries and caucuses began four weeks ago. As he ended his own candidacy, the former New York mayor called McCain "the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States. He's an American hero."
Officials familiar with Romney's plans cautioned they could yet changes. They said that paradoxically, the Florida defeat had been followed with a particularly strong day of online fundraising. But they added that in discussions so far, the former Massachusetts governor had selected the least costly of a variety of options prepared for his review.
They commented on campaign strategy only on condition of anonymity.
One of Romney's greatest campaign strengths has been his deep pockets. A wealthy former businessman who has largely financed his own campaign, he has advertised extensively in the other primary states where he competed. His campaign spent about $3 million on television ads in Florida, where he finished second.
McCain's own television advertising plans were unclear.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul also remain in the Republican race, but the former is out of cash and the latter has proven to be a niche candidate whose greatest appeal is to the small percentage of GOP voters who oppose the Iraq War.
Republicans converged on California for an evening debate, their last before next Tuesday's round of contests with 1,023 convention delegates at stake.
Obama and Clinton battled on roughly equal footing across a vast, uncertain political landscape, Democratic primaries in 15 states and caucuses in seven more plus American Samoa with 1,681 delegates at stake on Tuesday.
Obama said it was time for a change, and he was the man to provide it.
"I know it is tempting - after another presidency by a man named George Bush - to simply turn back the clock, and to build a bridge back to the 20th century," he said in Denver.
"It's not enough to say you'll be ready from Day One - you have to be right from Day One," he added in unmistakable criticism of Clinton and her husband, who pledged during his own presidency to build a bridge to the 21st century.
The former first lady made a homecoming campaign swing through Arkansas, where she lived for 18 years, much of it while her husband was a popular governor.
She called for a cap on credit card interest rates of 30 percent, to be lowered in the future, as well as new protections for consumers who use plastic. "We need more disclosure, more transparency," she said. "We've got to go after this predatory lending."
She also called for steps to make it harder for credit card companies to raise interest rates once a card is issued.
Four weeks after the Iowa caucuses kicked off the nominating campaign, the effect of early contests has been the same in both parties - a steady winnowing of once unwieldy fields.
The likelihood was for the party races taking diverging paths over the next several weeks, the odds favoring a quick end to the Republican race and a protracted Democratic struggle.
Party rules alone make it unlikely that either the former first lady or Obama will emerge from next Tuesday with a commanding lead in the race for delegates. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats do not permit winner-take-all races.
Instead, they award delegates proportionately on the basis of the vote in each congressional district on the ballot. There are 214 involved in next's week primaries and caucuses, accounting for almost half the country. Depending on the closeness of the vote in a district, the winner and loser can easily emerge with the same number of delegates.
The opposite is true in the Republican race, where the loser in a statewide race can come away with no delegates to show for their trouble.
Thus, Arizona's 53 delegates go to the top statewide vote getter - an obvious advantage for its home-state senator, McCain. So, too, New York, with 101 delegates awarded to the statewide winner, and Giuliani eager to make sure they, too, belong to McCain.
Missouri (58 delegates), New Jersey (52) Connecticut (27) Delaware (18), also award all its delegates to the statewide winner, as do Utah (36), Montana (25) and Alaska (26).
Romney's political base of Massachusetts, with 40 delegates, is one of relatively few states to award delegates proportionately on the basis of popular vote.
Several states award their delegates winner-take-all to the top vote-getter in each congressional district.
Complicating Romney's prospects is the continued presence of Huckabee in the race. The Baptist preacher-turned-politician has shown an ability to draw votes from evangelical conservatives, effectively splitting the anti-McCain vote.
Edwards ended his second run for the White House as he began it, standing in a hurricane-ravaged neighborhood in New Orleans, pledging to make the fight against poverty "the cause of my life."
There was a more practical side to his departure, though, as seen in the instant competition that sprung up between Clinton and Obama to win the allegiance of his fundraisers and supporters - if not Edwards himself.
Addressing a small group of supporters, his wife and children at his side, Edwards said the remaining rivals had both pledged that "they will make ending poverty central to their campaign for the presidency." But he endorsed neither
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CAMPAIGN_RDP?SITE=MABED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT