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Clinton, Obama aim for female voters, McCain seeks unity

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama vied for the support of women voters as they faced off for electoral contests yesterday, after nationwide races this week failed to anoint either candidate as the Democratic front-runner for the presidential nomination.

Republicans Senator John McCain and Mike Huckabee hunted for delegates in three state contests yesterday, keeping a vigorous pace despite the sense that the Republican race is essentially over, with McCain firmly on the road to the nomination.

Clinton and Obama split wins during Tuesday's series of nomination contests in 22 states, a deadlock that promised to transform this already historic race between a woman and a black man into a fight that will last until the party's convention in August.

The two Democrats face four contests yesterday, with the three most important ones -- Washington state, Nebraska and Louisiana -- offering a total of 161 delegates or about 10 percent of the total needed to win the party's nomination. Of those three races, Washington and Nebraska are caucuses, contests that have served Obama well in the past.

Clinton and Obama both campaigned on Thursday and Friday in Washington state, the richest weekend prize, with 78 delegates.

No state better illustrates the competition for women voters than Washington. The governor and both US senators are Democratic women. Clinton scored first, winning the endorsements of senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, but on Friday Obama won the endorsement of Washington Governor Chris Gregoire.

"He is leading us toward a positive feeling of hope in our country and I love seeing that happen," Gregoire said.

On the Republican side, McCain was seeking to heal divisions with his party's right-wing base by casting himself as the US' steadfast protector against terrorism. He suggested on Friday that a vote for Clinton or Obama would ultimately encourage terrorists.

"They want to set a date for withdrawal from Iraq that I believe would have catastrophic consequences," he said following a discussion on national security issues in the Navy town of Norfolk, Virginia.

"I believe al-Qaeda would trumpet to the world they defeated the United States of America, and I believe, therefore, they would try to follow us home. There would be catastrophic consequences in the region, and we would be back," he said.

Without naming McCain, Republican President George W. Bush called for unity in a party that has splintered as his approval rating plummeted to a historic low of 30 percent, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll on Friday showed.

Former Arkansas governor Huckabee remains in the race with strong support from conservative Christians, but is far behind in the delegate hunt. Representative Ron Paul has a small loyal following, but is far behind in polls.
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