Romney Says He Can Beat McCain []

2/5/2008 1:06:41 PM Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Tuesday that his chief rival, Arizona Senator John McCain, is not going into the Super Tuesday nominating contests as the presumed GOP standard-bearer.

"Senator McCain's a fine fellow, national hero, but his positions on the keystone issues of his 25 years are positions that are more like Democrats than like those of Republicans," Romney said in an appearance on the Fox New Channel's "Fox and Friends" program.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, noted that of the eight Republican nominating contests so far, he has won four, McCain three, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has taken one.

"I think that the right course for a winning campaign against someone like (Democrat) Barack Obama is going to have to be somebody who can speak with energy and passion about the future of America, not another senator," Romney said.

In a separate interview Tuesday, Romney lashed out at McCain for distorting his record as governor.

"He's so inaccurate. He's so making up facts that it's really quite extraordinary," Romney said in an interview on CBS' "The Early Show."

"If he were inevitable, he wouldn't be saying the things about me he's saying," Romney said. "He's obviously very concerned."

Speaking at West Virginia's Republican nominating convention Tuesday, Romney said he can beat McCain.

"This is not a long shot," Romney said. "I am the candidate who can stop John McCain."


Clinton Upbeat On Super Tuesday []

2/5/2008 12:51:51 PM Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she wasn't concerned that her rival for the Democratic Party's nomination has narrowed the gender gap.

The junior senator from New York, in an appearance on NBC's "Today" program, said she felt "very good" about voters and caucus-goers going into Super Tuesday, when 24 states hold their nominating contests.

"I feel very good that as voters make their decisions, they're going to be looking to see who they think would be the best president and who they believe as a Democrat would have the best chance of winning in November," she said.

Clinton said to know what she plans to do as president one should look at her record.

She said she is "one hundred percent committed" to "ending the war in Iraq, winning the war in Afghanistan, bringing about universal health care and turning the economy around so it works for middle-class Americans again."

Also vying for the Democratic nomination is Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with whom Clinton is locked in a tight race.

In California, where the most delegates are up for grabs in Tuesday's primary, Obama has unleashed supporters to help woo voters, women in particular.

Those backing Obama include California's First Lady, Maria Shriver, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, and talk show host and media maven Oprah Winfrey.

Clinton said her experience in Washington would not prevent her from being an agent of change.

"I think experience and change go together," she said. "In every setting that I'm in, people know that I have the experience to be president,â€