Clinton, Obama Focus On Md. On Chesapeake Tuesday Eve

WASHINGTON -- A day before the first Chesapeake primary, Democratic presidential candidates gave Maryland unusual attention Monday.

Meanwhile, political observers pointed to evidence of strong support in Maryland for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic race with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Tom Schaller, a political science professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County predicted an Obama victory, saying the state's large black populations in the city of Baltimore and Prince George's County help make Maryland a state for him to excel with voters.

"It would be a catastrophic failure for him if he lost," Schaller said.

Michael Cain, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary's College of Maryland, said he was wondering more about the momentum Obama could pick up in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., after winning the Maine caucus Sunday and scoring victories Saturday in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state.

"It's exciting for our region to have this Potomac Primary," Cain said. "I think everyone's excited to be actually playing some role, for a change, in deciding the presidential primary."

Obama held a rally Monday at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, where he continued to tell voters he was the person to change the country for the better. Long before he spoke at 1 p.m., a long line had formed.

Citing the Iraq war, global warming and economic worries, Obama told more than 17,000 people that he decided to run for president soon after entering the Senate because, "I was convinced that the size of these challenges had outstripped the capacity of a broken and divided politics to solve."

The nation, he said, "wanted a politics that wasn't about tearing the country down, but was about lifting the country up."

"We need something new," he said, dismissing Clinton's suggestions that he is not tough enough to handle the White House's rigors.

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"I may be skinny, but I'm tough, too," he said, drawing loud cheers.

After the event, he headed to another event in Baltimore at the 1st Mariner Arena.

At the intersection of Florida and New York Avenues in D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty and Councilman Marion Barry stumped for Obama Monday morning.

Obama's wife, Michelle, was scheduled to appear at a 5:30 p.m. rally at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

Clinton denied Monday that her campaign is in trouble after losing to Barack Obama in four weekend voting contests and replacing her campaign manager.

"I'm still ahead in the popular vote and in delegates," Clinton said.

Speaking to reporters after touring a General Motors plant outside Baltimore, Clinton said she feels very good about the state of the race, even though she is not expected to win any victories between now and March 4, when voters in Texas and Ohio cast ballots.

"We had a great night on Super Tuesday," Clinton said, referring to the 22 states that voted Feb. 5. Clinton won 8 states to Obama's 13 but scored in many of the biggest contests including New York, California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. And they divided the delegates almost evenly.

"If you look at the states ... upcoming, I am very confident."

The New York senator also dismissed concern that Obama had all the momentum going into Chesapeake Tuesday.

"Before Super Tuesday you all were reporting on all the momentum. It didn't turn out to be true," she said. "Let's have the elections. Instead of talking about them, pontificating and punditing, let's let people actually vote."

Then she moved on to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she took questions from students in a politics class. She explained why she believes she is the Democrat with the best chance to beat a Republican candidate, saying she knows what it takes for a Democrat to win.

From Virginia, Clinton moved on to stops in Texas and Ohio, where primaries take place next month.

Clinton appeared Monday morning at a small gathering in D.C. sponsored by the National Council for Negro Women and said she supports full voting rights for District residents.

"I think this is long overdue," Clinton said to cheers. "I think it is wrong that we disenfranchise the people who live and work in this city."

Voting rights in a significant issue in Washington, where almost 60 percent of the population is black. The former first lady has struggled to gain traction with black voters in her race against Obama, who hopes to be the first black president.

On Monday, D.C. Councilman David Catania endorsed Clinton. Catania, the chair of the D.C. Council's Committee on Health, said, "Sen. Clinton’s long and distinguished track record of fighting for better healthcare for all Americans is unequaled in this campaign."

Maryland has a total of 99 delegates to the Democratic national convention, and 70 of them will be decided in the state's primary.

The high winds and wildfires caused cancellations in Roanoke, Va., for both Democratic candidates. The wind grounded Clinton's plane and forced her to cancel a rally set for Sunday. She was able to attend a town hall in Manassas, Va. Obama canceled a rally he had planned for Monday morning.

Despite bitter cold, hundreds gathered in Fredericksburg to hear from former President Bill Clinton. He spoke Monday at the University of Mary Washington in support of his wife.

Harry Crisp, a member of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, arrived more than two hours early to ensure he'd get to see the former president.

Students Katherine Davis and Audrey Johnson are supporters of Republican John McCain, but they still got in line more than two hours early to hear Bill Clinton speak, primarily out of curiosity.

He detailed his wife's plan for dealing with global warming, the oil crisis, the economy, health care, the deficit and Iraq. He scarcely mentioned Obama.

"She has, more than anybody else, repeatedly defied expectations and brought people together to do big things together. And she believes America will be brought together only when we do big things together," Clinton told about 1,000 people.

"I think if the test is who's got the best ideas, who's got the right policies, who's got the best record of actually making changes in other people's lives, it's not a close call," he said.

The former president also planned stops in Roanoke and Fairfax on Monday on his wife's behalf.

Giving Obama a lift in Virginia is Gov. Tim Kaine, who campaigned for him throughout the weekend. On Monday, Obama told WRVA radio in Richmond that Kaine was "somebody who is on my short list to have a role in my administration." He did not specify what slot Kaine might fill.