Published Monday | May 5, 2008
Today on the presidential campaign trail
By The Associated Press
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10229520

AP) - IN THE HEADLINES

Clinton, Obama spar over gas price relief, predict fight stretches to June contests ... Poll: Clinton holds slight lead over Obama in Indiana ahead of Tuesday primary ... McCain: Focus on illegal immigration in primary race hurt GOP's image

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Clinton, Obama, predict fight stretches to June 3

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Resolute rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama straddled North Carolina and Indiana on Monday on the eve of a pair of crucial primaries in the unceasing contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Both predicted the race would stretch into June, regardless of Tuesday's outcomes.

The two darted back to North Carolina for some last-minute campaigning, with polls showing Clinton chipping away at Obama's advantage here. It was a brief diversion from the more competitive Indiana, where both planned to return by nightfall.

"In the end of the day, you don't hire a president to make speeches, you hire a president to solve problems," Clinton told a couple hundred people in a gymnasium.

Elsewhere, Obama campaigned among white, blue-collar workers in Evansville, Ind., before flying to North Carolina. The Democratic front-runner noted that the polls are very tight and the day's schedule had him "bouncing back and forth" between the two states.

"We're working as hard as we can and I desperately want every single vote here, in North Carolina and in Indiana," the Illinois senator said during an appearance at a construction site.

In both states, Obama was trying to recover from a difficult period and put Clinton away after a difficult 16-month fight that has split the party. The former first lady, meanwhile, hoped to hang in the race with a win in one, maybe two states.

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Poll: Clinton holds slight lead over Obama in Indiana

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton is running slightly ahead of rival Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary race in Indiana, a new survey shows.

The Suffolk University poll found Clinton leading Obama by 6 points, 49 percent to 43 percent, with 6 percent of respondents undecided.

Despite trailing Clinton, Obama was seen as more popular, with 58 percent of respondents giving him a favorable rating compared with Clinton's 53 percent. Forty-four percent said they would vote Democratic if their choice of candidate lost the nomination, while 38 percent said they would vote for Republican John McCain.

The poll by Boston-based Suffolk University was conducted by telephone Saturday and Sunday. It involved interviews with 600 likely Democratic voters in Indiana. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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McCain: Focus on illegal immigration hurt GOP's image

PHOENIX (AP) - Republican John McCain on Monday said the focus on illegal immigration during the Republican primary race harmed his party's image among Hispanics.

The Arizona senator clinched the GOP nomination last month and has been campaigning freely since.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference on Cinco de Mayo, McCain said Hispanic citizens want America's borders secured and illegal immigrants to be treated humanely.

He said low-income, Hispanic citizens are vulnerable to losing their jobs to the lower wages accepted by illegal immigrants.

On broader immigration policies, McCain said local governments would not have to take on immigration problems had the federal government overhauled the country's immigration policies.

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DAILY TRACK

Barack Obama has a slight lead nationally over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton - 50 percent to 45 percent - in the Democratic presidential race, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update.

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THE DELEGATE BREAKDOWN

Barack Obama: 1745.5

Hillary Rodham Clinton: 1607.5

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THE DEMOCRATS

Hillary Rodham Clinton stops in North Carolina to get out the vote, before campaigning in Indiana. Barack Obama discusses the economy with workers in North Carolina before a rally in Indianapolis.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain held a news conference in Phoenix before speaking to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce in North Carolina.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"You know, one thing that you learn on a presidential campaign, to sleep anywhere. I mean, you name it: I can sleep on cars, planes, trains, standing up. You name it, I can close my eyes, and I'm out like a light." - Democrat Barack Obama, speaking on FOX News' "FOX & Friends."

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Lyndon B. Johnson was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Indiana in the general election in 1964.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.