Clinton Touts Wins; Obama Downplays Performance

In its latest tally of total delegates, the Associated Press reported today that Obama leads Clinton by 1,562 to 1,461, a count that includes unpledged superdelegates. Despite her victories last night, Clinton has cut Obama's lead in delegates by only 12, with 12 more delegates yet to be awarded from the contests, AP said. At the national convention, 2,025 delegate votes are needed to secure the nomination.

In a talking-points memo today to surrogates who are speaking for Clinton, the New York senator's campaign argued that "the primary process must continue" and stressed the legitimacy of the unpledged superdelegates, which it called "automatic delegates." Those delegates, mostly Democratic elected officials and prominent party members, are free to vote for whomever they wish at the national convention.

"Both campaigns agree that automatic delegates will determine the nominee," the Clinton campaign's talking-points memo said. "There is no difference between pledged delegates and automatic delegates. We plan on gaining pledged delegates and closing the Obama camp's lead by the end of the nominating process. When it comes to pledged delegates, we'll be competitive."

The memo also said that "the campaign has fundamentally shifted in Hillary Clinton's direction" and forecast an "upswing as the campaign now heads into Pennsylvania," a delegate-rich state that is holding its Democratic primary on April 22.

Obama said on the morning talk shows that he is not worried about losing the nomination because of the superdelegate count.

"I think that most Democrats are going to feel like whoever has won the most delegates in these primaries and caucuses will end up being the nominee," he said on NBC's "Today" show. "That's why we have primaries and caucuses. Otherwise, the superdelegates could just go into a smoke-filled room and make those decisions."

Obama also expressed confidence about his chances in two states that hold nominating contests before Pennsylvania: Wyoming and Mississippi. He is expected to do well in both.

As a result of yesterday's primaries, "the pledged delegate count barely changed," he said on the CBS "Early Show." He added, "We still have what is close to an insurmountable lead in terms of winning pledged delegates."

Obama played down the significance of his failure to win big states such as California, New York, Ohio and Texas, pointing out that he has come out on top in Missouri, Georgia, Wisconsin and his home state of Illinois.

The Clinton campaign argued, however, that she is "better positioned to carry the battleground states that Democrats need to win in November." It asserted that Obama's primary and caucus victories in a number of "core Republican states" would not count for much in the presidential election.

At the White House, Bush welcomed McCain and his wife, Cindy, at the North Portico, then clapped the Arizona senator on the back as he escorted him inside for lunch in the president's private dining room.

McCain has been the presumptive GOP nominee for weeks, but his victories in yesterday's primaries put him over the threshold of delegates needed to secure the nomination and prompted former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to call off his long-shot candidacy.

McCain and Bush have had policy differences and were bitter rivals when both ran for the GOP nomination in 2000, but today they showed a united front. In their joint news conference after lunch, Bush and McCain were asked repeatedly whether Bush's support would help or hurt the candidate on the campaign trail in view of the president's low job-approval ratings. McCain insisted that he would feel "very privileged" to have Bush campaign for him.

Bush, who appeared to be in an ebullient mood, responded: "Look, if my showing up and endorsing him helps him, or if I'm against him and it helps him, either way, I want him to win." In any case, Bush said, "they're not going to be voting for me. I've had my time in the Oval Office. . . . It's not about me. You know, I've done my bit."

On the issue of choosing a vice president, Bush told reporters: "People don't vote for vice presidents, as much as I hate to say that, for those who have been candidates for vice president. They're going to vote for who gets to sit inside that Oval Office and make decisions on how to protect the country and keep taxes low, and how to have a culture that respects the dignity of every human being."

In response to another question, Bush said every candidate is expected to portray himself as an agent of change.

"And the good news about our candidate is there will be a new president, a man of character and courage, but he's not going to change when it comes to taking on the enemy," Bush said. "He understands this is a dangerous world."