Commentary: Politics

Unions Unveil Republican Nominee John McCain Attack:
The organized labor, A.F.L.-C.I.O. announced the start of a campaign attacking Senator McCain on economic issues, part of a $53.4 million grass-roots mobilization effort.

“Our economy is in crisis after years of failed Bush administration policies that Senator McCain supports and has adopted as his own,” Karen Ackerman, the labor federation’s political director said in a statement. “Senator McCain’s record shows he’s in lockstep with President Bush on economic issues.”

The anti-McCain effort will include leafleting at workplaces, direct mail, knocking on doors, and phone banking. Also, Union activists plan to confront Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, at his appearances in the coming months.

Delegate Battles Snarl Democrats in Two States:
Democrats in Michigan and Florida have been struggling to resolve the disputed January primaries, coming up with a plan to hold a June primary in Michigan while remaining deadlocked in Florida.

Mrs. Clinton won the primaries in both states, but the contests were not sanctioned by the party, neither candidate campaigned in the states and Mr. Obama did not even put his name on the ballot in Michigan.

Pushing to seat the Florida delegates, at least one top Clinton fund-raiser, Paul Cejas, a Miami businessman who has given the Democratic National Committee $63,500 since 2003, has demanded Democratic officials return his 2007 contribution of $28,500, which they have agreed to do. The anger from Clinton fund-raisers seems to emanate mostly from Florida.

“If you’re not going to count my vote, I’m not going to give you my money,” said Mr. Cejas, who was the United States ambassador to Belgium from 1998 to 2001.

Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, a Clinton supporter, raised the possibility of seating his state’s delegates based on the January vote — which Mrs. Clinton won 50 percent to 33 percent — but awarding each Florida delegate only half a vote at the August convention.

Stacie Paxton, a spokeswoman for the D.N.C., defended Mr. Dean’s handling of the dispute. “While Howard Dean has been working hard to be an honest broker, too many involved have been more concerned with headlines than results,” Ms. Paxton said.

Polarities Exist in Democratic Race:
Sen. Barack Obama has broken historic barriers, especially among the young, as the first black candidate with a serious chance at the presidency. Voters who might ordinarily balk at a female president have backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in her pioneering effort.

A significant minority of voters in Democratic contests have considered the race or sex of the candidates important — about one in five in each case. That's according to surveys of voters in about two dozen states across the country on and since Super Tuesday.

The Pennsylvania governor, an important figure in the big April 22 primary, said "there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American." Also, he added Clinton "has the same handicap" because some voters won't vote for a woman.

While women are credited with reviving Clinton's campaign in New Hampshire and helping to drive her wins in Texas and Ohio, in the South Carolina primary and beyond, blacks have powered Obama's victories in states where they live in large numbers, joined by the young of any race — and by white men in varying degrees.

McCain visiting Mideast, Europe:
McCain's trip begins in Iraq, but for security reasons, the senator's office is not providing details about his visit to the war-torn country. McCain said the senators will meet with U.S. military officials and Iraqi leaders in an attempt to assess the success of the troop buildup for themselves. "The people he's going to meet with are going to try to find out from him what he would do as president," said Jim Steinberg, the dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and a former deputy national security adviser to President Bill Clinton. "He's not just a senator. He's the presumptive nominee."

In Europe, especially, the veteran military officer turned politician may face tough questions about his aggressive rhetoric toward some of the world's nations. "If people here and in the Middle East were reassured that McCain isn't sort of itching for another war, that would be an important step," said Walter Mead, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "When someone is one of the two finalists to be president of the United States, everybody wants to take a closer look." Republicans hope to highlight a "stature gap" between McCain and his Democratic rivals, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Obama Nets More Delegates Saturday:
Democrat Senator Barack Obama expanded his lead in delegates over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday, picking up at least seven delegates as Iowa activists took the next step in picking delegates to the national convention. Half the 14 delegates allocated to John Edwards on the basis of caucus night projections switched Saturday and Obama got most, if not all, of them.

"It means the Obama people are very organized," said Iowa Democratic Chairman Scott Brennan. "They have been working very hard for these conventions."

Obama won the state's precinct caucuses in January with 39 percent of the vote, with Edwards narrowly edging Clinton to finish second. Projections on caucus night showed Obama getting 16 delegates, compared to 15 for Clinton and 14 for Edwards.

With the new results, Associated Press delegate tally showed Obama with 1,610 delegates and Clinton with 1,496.

Clinton Defends Role in N.Ireland Peace Process:
U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton defended her role in the Northern Ireland peace process on Saturday and accused rival Barack Obama of "nitpicking" her record on the issue.

She said she continues to be engaged with leaders from Northern Ireland and questioned whether Obama could say the same.

"Just this week I was called to meet with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which I do on a regular basis, to get an update about where the process is now," she said.

The Obama campaign issued a statement that again accused the former first lady of inflating her role.

"It is a gross overstatement of the facts for her to claim even partial credit for bringing peace to Northern Ireland," the statement said, quoting Greg Craig, a former director of the U.S. State Department's policy planning office under Bill Clinton.

Obama Calls for Unity:
Senator Barack Obama repudiated the “incendiary” remarks of his former minister today, imploring Americans to set aside racial divisions and heed the words that Robert F. Kennedy delivered not far from here the night the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

“At that moment of anguish, he said we’ve got a choice in taking the rage and bitterness and disappointment and letting it fester and dividing us further, so that we no longer see each other as Americans, but we see each other as separate and apart and at odds with each other,” Mr. Obama said. “Or we can take a different path.”

In Plainfield, an Indianapolis suburb, Mr. Obama addressed the controversy relating to his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr, the pastor of his church.

“I noticed over the last several weeks, the forces of division have started to raise their ugly heads again. I’m not here to cast blame or point fingers because everybody senses that there’s been this shift,” he said. “You’ve been seeing it in the reporting. You’ve been seeing it in some of the commentary of supporters on all sides. Most recently, you’ve heard some statements of my former pastor that were incendiary and that I completely reject.”

“I will not allow us to lose this moment where we can not forget about our past and not ignore the very real forces of racial inequality and gender inequality and the other things that divide us,” he said.

The crowd rose to its feet in applause.

Who Will Be the Democratic Norminee?
For more than a month now, Obama and his campaign have argued that the candidate with the most pledged delegates - won in primaries and caucuses - should be the nominee. Obama leads rival Hillary Clinton by more than 100 pledged delegates.

Barack Obama said the Superdelegates should pick the will of people, while Hillary Clinton would prefer the Superdelegates to Pick the best candidate.

"The will of the people is a very transitory term," said Sasser, an undecided superdelegate and head of the Tennessee state party. "The deciding factor for most superdelegates is, 'Who is going to be the best candidate to carry the Democratic banner?'"

Obama now has a nearly insurmountable lead in pledged delegates. But if Clinton has boffo showings in the Pennsylvania primary April 22 and nabs repeat wins in the re-do of Florida and Michigan, she could surpass him in the popular vote.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe insists the pledged delegate count is the best measure of voters' wishes.

"The Clintons are always very creative about trying to create new paths for themselves to the nomination," he said.

Huckabee Has No Illusions About VP Slot:
Speculation has swirled about Mike Huckabee as a vice presidential candidate ever since his presidential campaign caught fire late last year. The former Arkansas governor won eight Southern and Midwestern states and didn't drop out until he lost in Texas and Ohio last week.

In his first public appearance since dropping a stronger-than-expected bid for the GOP nomination, Huckabee on Thursday said he is "not sitting around" expecting likely Republican nominee John McCain to tap the former Arkansas governor as his running mate.

"I'm not one that has any illusions that he has some obligation to me," Huckabee told reporters before an ethics lecture at Columbia College, a small private school in central Missouri. "It's his decision to make. I'm going to support whomever he picks."

Huckabee, who won eight presidential primary states before pulling out on March 4, said he plans to "vigorously campaign" for congressional candidates he supports.

Meanwhile, economic conservatives are skeptical of Mr. Huckabee because of his record of raising taxes in Arkansas.