Clinton, Obama Steel for Long Battle as McCain Looks for Quick Nomination Wrap

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Democratic candidates hunkered down Wednesday for a prolonged battle – perhaps all the way to the Democratic National Convention - while two major GOP candidates looked for ways to keep the third, John McCain, from finishing off their race in upcoming contests.

"I think we've got to try to wrap this thing up as quickly as possible," McCain said in Phoenix, looking to Saturday contests in Kansas and Washington state, and next Tuesday's primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said his wins in Georgia, Alabama, West Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee reminded people that he remains a viable contender.

"You cannot win the presidency as a Republican if you don't carry the states I carried," he said on MSNBC.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney retreated behind closed doors in Boston to reassess his campaign. He had assured supporters Tuesday night that it would go on until the Republican National Convention. Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said Wednesday that's still the plan.

"Of course, any day after an election where you had 21 contests in one day you're going to have a strategic assessment of where your chances stand and your message going forward," Madden told Fox News.

While McCain's Super Tuesday wins made him the heavy favorite for the GOP nomination, the day's Democratic contests did nothing to settle the tight Democratic battle between Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York.

"Well obviously, when you're in a contest you want to have a result sooner instead of later," Clinton said at her national headquarters in Virginia.

Count on later, perhaps much later, Clinton staffers said. Chief strategist Mark Penn predicted "a long contest ... a hunt for delegates." Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, said the proportional system of awarding delegates makes it "likely that neither side will ever come out to a large lead in delegates."

That means a contest – once thought headed for a Super Tuesday conclusion – that could continue beyond March 4 contests in Ohio and Texas and "even past April," according to Wolfson. It's possible, he predicted, that the battle could be undecided when the Democratic National Convention convenes in August. In that scenario, the Clinton camp believes it has an edge because of heavy support from "superdelegates," who are elected and party officials.

Clinton now has approximately 812 delegates and Obama has 720 delegates, totals that include superdelegates. It takes 2,025 delegates to win nomination.

In Chicago on Wednesday, Obama cautioned superdelegates against signing on with Clinton.

"If this contest comes down to superdelegates, I think we're going to be able to say that we have more pledged delegates, meaning that the Democratic voters have spoken," he said in response a question about the Clintons' long-standing ties to party leaders.

"I think that those superdelegates who are elected officials, party insiders, would have to think long and hard about how they approach the nomination, when the people they claim to represent have said, 'Obama's our guy,' " Obama added.

But Clinton strategist Penn said superdelegates will see her primary wins in key states such as California, Florida, Michigan and New York as proof that she "has the support of people in the states that are necessary to win the presidential election and beat the Republicans."

The Clinton camp on Wednesday pushed Obama to accept a debate-a-week schedule in coming weeks, an invitation he did not seem too interested in.

"We will have more debates," Obama said. "We are still trying to sort through our schedule, because it's very important for me to spend time with voters. ... Senator Clinton starts off I think with 100 percent name recognition and a very familiar brand. We benefit from being on the ground, talking to voters directly."

Obama, who raised a staggering $32 million in January, has a financial edge that forced Clinton to dip into her own pocket for a $5 million loan before Super Tuesday. She said the loan was necessary because "my opponent was able to raise more money."

"And I think the results (Tuesday) night proved the wisdom of my investment," she said.

On the GOP side, McCain's Tuesday wins gave him a commanding – but not clinching – lead in the race toward the 1,191 delegates it takes for victory. The latest tabulations put his total at 680, with Romney at 270, Huckabee at 176 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 16.

The GOP spotlight now moves immediately to a problem area for McCain – the conservative wing of the party, which never liked him as a senator and dreads him as a presidential candidate. McCain speaks Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual conference in Washington, an event he skipped last year.

In recent weeks, McCain has been under relentless attack from Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk-show hosts.

"I think they've made their case against me pretty eloquently, if that's the right word," McCain joked at a Phoenix news conference. "I do hope that at some point we would just calm down a little bit and see if there are areas that we can agree on for the good of the party and for the good of the country."

McCain, who said his speech on Thursday will center on "common conservative principles," faces an uphill battle in currying favor among CPAC conference participants.

"It was certainly noted that he didn't show up last year," said Peggy Venable of Austin, the Texas director of Americans for Progress and scheduled participant in a CPAC panel discussion. "Is he a Johnny-come-lately conservative or a conservative at all?"

In a presidential straw poll at the 2007 conference, McCain placed fifth at 12 percent. Romney, who also speaks at the conference, was first at 21 percent, and he drew applause by blasting McCain initiatives on campaign finance reform and immigration.

McCain's latest effort to win conservative support includes a letter sent Wednesday to "our conservative colleagues" by five Republicans who were active in Ronald Reagan's campaigns, including former Reagan special assistant Jack Kemp.

McCain, the letter said, is a "maverick conservative" in the Reagan mold.

"Reagan was a threat to the establishment; so, too, is John McCain," the letter said. "Reagan did not waver, holding fast to his basic principles. John McCain now soldiers on, espousing conservative principles. ... We urge you, fellow Reaganauts, to join in supporting a man of character, conservative temperament, a 'maverick' in the Reagan tradition who has and will continue to stand up to the corrupt elites in Washington, and will not join them. That man is John McCain."