By Greg Kearney
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama trounced rival Hillary Clinton in Wyoming caucuses, but the two candidates continued Sunday their pitched battle for every nominating delegate. The Illinois senator defeated the former first lady by a wide margin, 61 percent to 38 percent, or 5,378 votes to 3,311, with 100 percent of the vote counted. Sixty-four votes for others went mostly to ex-senator John Edwards. The outcome meant Obama would win the lion's share of the mere 12 delegates at stake, a tiny number compared to the 2,025 needed to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at its August convention.
But the victory represented some good news for Obama after a difficult week in which he lost nominating contests in delegate-rich Ohio and Texas and found himself on the defensive in the face of attacks from the Clinton campaign.
With no candidate yet able to lock in victory after eight long weeks of primaries, every vote and every delegate still counts in the battle to be the party's nominee in the November presidential election against Republican John McCain.
And with only two contests before the end of April, every win carries weight in the battle for momentum with the candidates already eyeing Mississippi, which holds its primaries on Tuesday.
In 23 caucuses around Wyoming, Democrats -- only about 25 percent of the staunchly Republican state's electorate -- were choosing between Clinton, a New York senator, or Obama.
Officials reported heavy turnout in a state known for its Republican sympathies.
Cheryl Flores, an Obama supporter, said she was backing the Illinois senator "because his campaign was more organized, he didn't have as many negative attacks and he wants to get the troops out of Iraq as soon as possible."
A national Newsweek poll released Friday showed the two senators in a virtual tie in their epic battle, with Obama on 45 percent support to Clinton's 44 percent.
The two were also virtually equal in voters' eyes on the issue many see most important: the sagging US economy.
After Wyoming, Obama and Clinton will face voters in the bigger, southern state of Mississippi, where 33 delegates are at stake. And the battle will then move to Pennsylvania on April 22.
Obama is also favored in Mississippi Tuesday, but with his current delegate count at 1,581 to Clinton's 1,460, according to the independent website RealClearPolitics, neither contest will settle the fight.
A Republican stronghold and home to Vice President Dick Cheney, Wyoming has the smallest population of any state with just 500,000 people.
Obama meanwhile appeared to rule out the possibility of a joint Clinton-Obama ticket, arguing he was in the race to win.
"You won't see me as a vice presidential candidate -- you know, I'm running for president," Obama told CBS Montana affiliate KTVQ.
"We have won twice as many states as Senator Clinton, and have a higher popular vote, and I think we can maintain our delegate count," the Illinois senator said.
Obama's comments stand in contrast to recent statements by the former first lady suggesting she was open to the idea of sharing the ticket with Obama. However she has clearly suggested that sharing, for her, would mean with her as president.
Wednesday, fresh from Ohio and Texas primary wins that breathed new life into her ailing campaign, Clinton told CBS: "That may be where this is headed.
"But of course we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket," she stressed. She said she thought her Ohio win indicated she should lead the Democratic ticket.// AFP
I hope that first time in life a normal man ( B. Obama ) will win and USA will have the normal, good president.
Posted by: Teg | March 10, 2008 at 10:17 AM