Obama sweeps, Huckabee hangs tough updated 1:19 a.m. EST, Sun February 10, 2008
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama swept the Democratic contests on Saturday, according to CNN projections.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Many voters in Saturday's Republican contests showed they're not yet ready to support Sen. John McCain as their party's nominee while Sen. Barack Obama cut into Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead in the race for Democratic delegates.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama swept the Democratic contests on Saturday, according to CNN projections.
1 of 3 Obama claimed victory in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington on Saturday, as well as in the Virgin Islands.
"The stakes are too high and the challenges are too great to play the same old Washington game with the same old Washington players and expect a different result," Obama told a hugely supportive crowd of Democrats at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Richmond, Virginia.
"People want to turn the page. They want to write a new chapter in American history." Watch Obama rally in Virginia »
Clinton has 1,100 delegates and Obama has 1,039, according to CNN calculations.
Obama leads in pledged delegates -- 908 to 877 -- but Clinton's superdelegates -- 223 to 131 -- give her the overall lead.
"If I'm your nominee, you will never have to worry that I will be knocked out of the ring, because I do have strength and experience to lead this country, and I am ready to go toe-to-toe with Sen. McCain whenever and wherever he desires," Clinton said Saturday. Watch Clinton address supporters »
On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee upset front-runner McCain in Saturday's Republican contests. What do the results mean? »
The former Arkansas governor beat McCain in Kansas by nearly a 3-1 margin.
Huckabee also took Louisiana, narrowly edging out McCain, according to CNN projections.
With both Huckabee and McCain falling short of the 50 percent mark, the 20 delegates will be allocated at next Saturday's Louisiana state GOP convention.
In Washington state, the Republican caucuses were too close to call.
Huckabee's Saturday wins show that Republicans are necessarily following in line behind McCain, the Republicans's presumptive nominee.
In Louisiana, exit polls showed that a majority of conservatives rejected the Arizona Republican. Only 34 percent of conservatives voted for McCain compared to 50 percent who voted for Huckabee, according to exit polls.
"People across America are gravitating toward our campaign and realizing that there is still a choice. And that's what we've said all along, that this race is far from being over," Huckabee said after the first results came in. Watch what Huckabee says about the results »
Obama and Huckabee have done well in caucus states like Iowa, where grass-roots efforts are more likely to have greater influence.
Obama also picked up a boost in Washington with the endorsement of the state's governor, Christine Gregoire.
Saturday's races marked the first contests without former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who suspended his campaign Thursday.
But Huckabee faces a daunting challenge. McCain has a significant lead in the delegate count after Super Tuesday. Huckabee has 217 delegates to McCain's 714, according to CNN calculations.
Even if Huckabee wins every remaining state with 50 percent of the vote to McCain's 40 percent, McCain would still be the nominee.
"The other scenario... if he kept winning by large margins could he keep John McCain short of the line? That is a more probable scenario, but still an unlikely scenario," said CNN chief national correspondent John King.
"I know the pundits, and I know what they say: The math doesn't work out," Huckabee said Saturday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. "Well, I didn't major in math, I majored in miracles. And I still believe in those, too."
A senior McCain adviser said they were not surprised by the results in Kansas.
"There are more caucus states we will probably lose, but our campaign is focusing on a transition from front-runner to nominee," he said.
McCain spent part of Saturday making calls in a bid to shore up conservative support for his campaign, according to CNN's Dana Bash.
Huckabee scored wins in the Southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and his native Arkansas on Super Tuesday, and social conservatives in Louisiana might mobilize behind him and send a message to McCain.
Huckabee pulled off a stunning win in the Iowa caucuses, the product of a grass-roots movement, and both Kansas and Washington are caucus states.
Huckabee said Saturday that the $250,000 his campaign had raised online in 24 hours was a sign of the health of his presidential effort.
Louisiana, still suffering from Hurricane Katrina, could be a key political state this year -- something not lost on both Democratic campaigns as they drum up last-minute votes. Watch the Democratic candidates campaign »
On the Republican side, Huckabee was in Kansas on Friday. He attended rallies in Olathe, Wichita, Topeka and Garden City.
McCain, meanwhile, held a national security roundtable in Norfolk, Virginia, and later traveled to Wichita, Kansas. Afterward, it was off to Seattle.
Here is a list of states and territories holding contests this weekend:
February 9
Guam Republican caucuses
Delegates: 6 unpledged delegates at stake
Kansas Republican caucuses
Participation: Closed (registered Republicans only)
Delegates: 36 pledged delegates at stake
Louisiana Republican and Democratic primaries
Republican participation: Closed primary
Delegates: 20 pledged delegates possibly at stake
Democratic participation: Closed primary
Delegates: 56 pledged delegates at stake
Nebraska Democratic caucuses
Participation: Closed. Any voter can, however, register as a Democrat at the caucus.
Delegates: 24 pledged delegates at stake
Virgin Islands Republican caucuses
Delegates: 6 unpledged delegates at stake
Washington State Democratic, Republican caucuses
Democratic participation: Open caucuses, in which any voter can participate, but must declare that he or she is a Democrat.
Delegates: 78 pledged delegates at stake.
The February 19 Washington State primary is a nonbinding beauty contest for Democrats.
Republican participation: Open, so any voter can participate, but must sign a declaration indicating that he or she is a member of the Republican Party and has or will not participate in the 2008 precinct caucus or convention system of any other party.
Delegates: 18 pledged delegates at stake.
Northern Mariana Islands Republican caucuses
Delegates: 6 unpledged delegates at stake.
February 10
Maine Democratic caucuses
Participation: Democrats hold closed primaries. New voters, as well as voters not registered in a political party, may register as Democrats at the caucus.
Republicans and Green Party members must become registered Democrats by January 26 in order to participate in the Democratic caucus.
God Bless America and everyone else!
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4Season Finale!
that applies.
But why has Ron Paul, who obviously has broad grassroots support and financial backing - not to mention solid positions and a voting record that political conservatives have long sought in a Republican presidential candidate - been dissed by many so-called Christian, conservative leaders and pundits? 
Examples? Pat Robertson supported Julie-Annie, while James Dobson reportedly still hasn't decided whom he wants to endorse (even though his state primary in Colorado just took place). Ann Coulter and other well-known GOP pundits have recently been supporting Flip-Flop Mitt, while action-hero Chuck Norris has propped up the Huckster - a slick, southern preacher masquerading as a conservative politician. 
Sorry to say it, but I won't be surprised to hear of some of these people eventually supporting Obamination. Coulter is already asserting she will support Billary if McCain gets the Republican nod, and Dobson just won't bother voting if McCain is nominated. Nice to know these people have some scruples, eh? 
Ron Paul isn't perfect, but he's certainly got more brains and integrity than all of these so-called leaders combined. And no matter what you think about Ron Paul's views on the War on Terror, I have yet to hear anyone who really believes that McCain, Romney or Huckabee can be relied upon to end the massive, illegal rupture of our borders - in fact, just the opposite is true. But, Ron Paul clearly wouldn't let this nightmare continue if he was elected to be our next president. 
Well, for one thing, monkeys would have to fly out of my butt before I would even consider voting for any of the current front-runners. Instead, I will be writing in Ron Paul's name on the November ballot since I cannot in good conscience vote for any of the other candidates. Who knows ... maybe if enough of us do this, a miracle will happen. 
