By Mike Manzoni
Heading toward four state primaries next Tuesday, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have focused their efforts primarily on Texas and Ohio, campaigning in the two states where Obama hopes to build on eleven consecutive wins and where Clinton looks to reverse the losing streak that has caused some to question whether her bid for president can survive any more losses.
Continuing on the momentum he garnered after a host of victories earlier this month, Obama won the Wisconsin primary and Hawaii caucus Feb. 19, making it his tenth consecutive win. He won the primary of Democrats living abroad to claim his eleventh straight victory.
The momentum is translating into a true frontrunner status: the latest New York Times/CBS News poll has Obama leading Clinton nationally by 54 percent to 38 percent.
Clinton edged Obama by 1,709 votes in New Mexico on Super Tuesday, party officials announced Feb. 14. Bad weather on voting day caused the state to report the results nearly two weeks late.
Washington awarded its delegates during caucuses held Feb. 9, which Obama won, but the state legislature there decided to go ahead with what was called a “beauty contest” primary on Feb. 19. Nearly 500,000 voters turned out with 53 percent of the precincts reporting.
With two debates in the last week- in Texas and Ohio, respectively-both Democratic candidates argued over who was better prepared to deal with the issues of health care, immigration and foreign policy. The candidates traded harsh verbal jabs on the campaign trail.
“Shame on you, Barack Obama,” Clinton said to reporters in Cincinnati on Saturday with an Obama mailer in her hand. The mailer accused Clinton of claiming NAFTA was a “boon” to the American economy, which she says is misleading.
At the debate in Cleveland Tuesday night held by NBC News, Clinton criticized NAFTA, a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico passed during her husband’s administration that is unpopular with Ohioans, and she prompted Obama to defend the mailers.
“In the last several days, some of those differences in tactics and the choices Senator Obama’s campaign has made regarding flyers and mailers and other information that has been put out about my health care plan and my position on NAFTA have been very disturbing to me,” she said.
Health care, the first topic discussed, was debated at length-for 16 minutes of the 90 minute debate.
Clinton said her policy, as opposed to her Obama’s, covers everyone. “The reason she thinks that there are more people covered under her plan than mine is because of a mandate,” Obama countered.
“Senator Obama has a mandate in his plan,” Clinton said, “It’s a mandate on parents to provide health insurance for their children. That’s about 150 million people who would be required to do that.”
Their debate at the University of Texas at Austin last Thursday was focused more heavily on foreign policy, in light of the day’s breaking news that Fidel Castro was to resign as longtime president of Cuba.
Addressing the night’s opening question, Clinton said it “gives Cuba a chance to change direction.”
“If Cuba moves toward democracy and toward freedom for its people, the United States would welcome that,” she said, after saying she would not meet immediately with Cuba’s presumed new leader, Raul Castro, only after “it demonstrated” change in direction.
Obama disagreed, restating his position that he would be willing to meet with foreign leaders without preconditions, adding, “I think it’s important for the United States to not just talk to its friends, but its enemies.”
The candidates largely agreed on many issues throughout the first half of the Texas debate, including their approaches to immigration reform.
“We are a nation of laws,” Obama said, “and we are a nation of immigration and we can reconcile those two things.”
Clinton agreed to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country as long as they paid fines, back taxes and learned English.
In addition to Ohio and Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island will hold their primaries on March 4.