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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
The big day arrives
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John Edwards talks to supporters at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday.
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| ON CNN TV | 
Stay with CNN-USA for ongoing reports and analysis on the impact of the Super Tuesday primaries and caucus. CNN's correspondents and analysts review the votes, weigh the consequences and chart what's next in the 2004 political season.
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VIDEO
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CNN's Bill Hemmer talks with John Kerry about Super Tuesday.
CNN's Kelly Wallace on the pressure facing John Edwards.
CNN's Candy Crowley on John Kerry's focus on the fall election.
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| A QUICK OVERVIEW: 'SUPER TUESDAY' |
• Total delegates at stake: 1,151 of 2,162 needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination
• How many states have primary events: 10
• States involved: Primaries are held in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont; a caucus is held in Minnesota
• Earliest poll closing: 7 p.m. ET -- Georgia, Vermont
• Latest poll closing: 11 p.m. ET -- California
Compiled by Robert Yoon and Mark Rodeffer
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SPECIAL REPORT
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
• EDWARDS NARROW GEORGIA NUMBERS: With Georgia serving as party central, the two leading contenders in the Super Tuesday presidential primary contests ended their final full day of campaigning with a bang Monday night. In the final Atlanta Journal-Constitution/WSB-TV tracking poll leading up today's vote, John Edwards narrowed John Kerry's once 20-point lead, gaining the support of 37 percent of voters to Kerry's 51 percent.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Candidates focus on Georgia
• ON HIS WAY OUT? Edwards held a series of underwhelming rallies in Ohio yesterday, ending his visit there in the lobby of a municipal Cleveland airport, where fewer than 100 people turned up, his smallest crowd this year. Babies cried and listeners clapped politely as Edwards hurried though his stump speech. All day, the normally unflappable Southern politician seemed listless and distracted.
The Boston Globe: Calls mount for Edwards to win today or bow out
• A DEAN WIN? Leading officials expect Kerry to carry Vermont, but they say they would not be terribly surprised if Howard Dean pulled off an upset. Kerry's last remaining major challenger, Edwards, did not file for the Vermont ballot. Wesley Clark was the only other major contender other than Kerry and Dean to petition for the Vermont ballot, and he's also dropped out.
AP: Vermonters may give ex-governor first victory today
• NORTH STAR TURNOUT: The Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party predicts the turnout will be double the estimated 12,000 who showed up in 2000 and 2002. And the race in Minnesota appears to be tighter than in most other states.
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Super Tuesday: State expecting high turnout
• BARNSTORMING THE BUCKEYE STATE: In Ohio, Edwards made a campaign appearance yesterday at the University of Toledo's student union auditorium, while Dennis Kucinich came home to Cleveland to concentrate on his roots in northeast Ohio and Kerry sandwiched a Columbus stop between appearances in Maryland and Georgia.
The Toledo Blade: Ohio plays key role in 'Super Tuesday'
• ONE-STOP STUMPING: Kerry roused a crowd of Maryland supporters yesterday with a speech assailing President Bush's record on the economy, the war on terror and the public schools. Edwards has also made one campaign appearance in Maryland, a rally February 20 at Prince George's Community College.
The Baltimore Sun: In Maryland, Kerry assails Bush on schools, health, economy
• ARNOLD OVERSHADOWS: With no sign of a competitive presidential primary in California, the leading Democratic contenders ignored it on Monday, dashing instead across three other states that vote today: Ohio, Maryland and Georgia. Dominating the campaign's final day in California were Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's two budget measures, Propositions 57 and 58.
The Los Angeles Times: Props. 57, 58 big items in homestretch
• JOHNS' ANIMOSITY: In the clubby world of the Senate, Kerry and Edwards have hardly become fast friends. It is no secret that the Massachusetts senator views Edwards's lack of foreign policy and military experience with disdain; Kerry once cracked that when he came back from Vietnam in 1969, Edwards might not have been "out of diapers." Edwards, who views his own sunny disposition as a campaign asset, has confided to close associates that Kerry lacks the kind of personal appeal necessary to win against Bush.
The New York Times: Even in Senate's small circle, Kerry and Edwards stay apart
• CONGRESSIONAL CULTURE WARS: Republicans plan to use Congress to pull Kerry and vulnerable Democrats into the cultural wars over gay rights, abortion and guns, envisioning a series of debates and votes that will highlight the candidates' positions on divisive issues.
The Washington Post: GOP plans votes to put Democrats on the spot
• COURTING THE BLACK VOTE: Since he left behind the frigid temperatures and nearly all-white populations of Iowa and New Hampshire, Kerry has been assiduously courting black voters, the most loyal voting bloc in the Democratic Party and a vital ingredient for victory come November. In many ways, Super Tuesday and the other primary contests are a dry run for motivating black voters to cast their ballots in the general election.
The Chicago Tribune: Kerry courts black voters
• FRONTLOADING: A variety of Edwards supporters, independent political operatives and academics assert that the 2004 calendar has favored speed over fairness and put a greater-than-ever premium on the ephemeral -- and some say irrational -- phenomenon of political "momentum." Among those disadvantaged in a front-loaded system, critics say, are candidates such as Edwards who show clear potential but still trail after the early-state contests, and voters who may need more time for careful comparison shopping. Skeptics also say the early winner in this system may not necessarily be the strongest candidate.
The Washington Post: Edwards vs. Kerry -- and the calendar
Compiled by Mark H. Rodeffer.
