"I'm convinced that if Washington continues on its same course, America will emerge not as the great nation of the 21st Century by the end, but as a second-tier power. It will be passed by someone else; I can't tell you who it will be, but it will be passed by someone else."
Romney added: "That will not happen. We'll keep American strong."
Conservatives Snub McCain; Evangelicals Spurn Romney
In spite of his strong showing on Tuesday, McCain still has a major weakness: He remains deeply unpopular with party conservatives, who split their votes between Romney and Huckabee. McCain asked his loudest conservative critics Wednesday to "calm down" and support his Republican presidential candidacy.
But his appeals are likely to fall on deaf ears among a number of influential right-wing pundits and commentators -- most prominently radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh -- who are hell-bent on stopping him.
Likewise, Romney's appeals to Christian conservatives also fell on deaf ears -- as this blogger predicted weeks ago -- with Huckabee's Southern Baptist-dominated Christian evangelical base emphatically turning thumbs down on Romney's bid to become the nation's first Mormon president. Southern Baptists do not view Mormons as genuine Christians because of doctrinal differences on the nature of God and the rules of salvation and consider Mormons a cult.
Emboldened by a sweep of all five southern Super Tuesday states that were in play, Huckabee suggested that he and McCain were now the two main GOP candidates.
"The one way you can't win a race is to quit it, and until somebody beats me, I'm going to answer the bell for every round of this fight," the former Arkansas governor said in an interview with The Associated Press. Huckabee made a similar vow in a speech to cheering home-state supporters in Little Rock, portraying himself as the best choice for conservative voters.
He said his strong showings in the South demonstrated that "conservatives do have a choice, because the conservatives have a voice."
Clinton Captures the Big 'Blue' States -- But Obama Sweeps the 'Red' Ones
Clinton won eight states, including the big, delegate-rich states of California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and -- not surprisingly -- her home state, New York. Not to be outdone, Obama won 13 states, including Alabama, Georgia, Connecticut and -- again, not surprisingly -- his home state, Illinois.
But Obama did something else: He won in states with overwhelmingly white populations, where a black candidate would have had great difficulty winning two decades ago: Montana, Alaska, North Dakota, Idaho, Minnesota -- once and for all debunking the notion, repeated by former President Bill Clinton during the bitterly contested January 26 South Carolina Democratic primary -- that a black candidate could not draw white voter support.
Moreover, Obama scored impressive victories in "red" states that have voted Republican in the last two general elections, including Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Utah.
Obama wasted no time Wednesday in seeking to convince Democrats that he offers the party its best hope of winning the White House this fall -- by warning that Republicans will have "a dump truck full" of dirt to unload on Clinton if the former first lady becomes the Democratic nominee.
At a news conference in Chicago, Obama offered some pointed advice to members of Congress and other party leaders who will attend the national convention this summer as "superdelegates" not chosen in primaries or caucuses.
He said that if he winds up winning more delegates in voting than the former first lady, they "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,'" he said.
Romney added: "That will not happen. We'll keep American strong."
Conservatives Snub McCain; Evangelicals Spurn Romney
In spite of his strong showing on Tuesday, McCain still has a major weakness: He remains deeply unpopular with party conservatives, who split their votes between Romney and Huckabee. McCain asked his loudest conservative critics Wednesday to "calm down" and support his Republican presidential candidacy.
Likewise, Romney's appeals to Christian conservatives also fell on deaf ears -- as this blogger predicted weeks ago -- with Huckabee's Southern Baptist-dominated Christian evangelical base emphatically turning thumbs down on Romney's bid to become the nation's first Mormon president. Southern Baptists do not view Mormons as genuine Christians because of doctrinal differences on the nature of God and the rules of salvation and consider Mormons a cult.
Emboldened by a sweep of all five southern Super Tuesday states that were in play, Huckabee suggested that he and McCain were now the two main GOP candidates.
"The one way you can't win a race is to quit it, and until somebody beats me, I'm going to answer the bell for every round of this fight," the former Arkansas governor said in an interview with The Associated Press. Huckabee made a similar vow in a speech to cheering home-state supporters in Little Rock, portraying himself as the best choice for conservative voters.
He said his strong showings in the South demonstrated that "conservatives do have a choice, because the conservatives have a voice."
Clinton Captures the Big 'Blue' States -- But Obama Sweeps the 'Red' Ones
Clinton won eight states, including the big, delegate-rich states of California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and -- not surprisingly -- her home state, New York. Not to be outdone, Obama won 13 states, including Alabama, Georgia, Connecticut and -- again, not surprisingly -- his home state, Illinois.
But Obama did something else: He won in states with overwhelmingly white populations, where a black candidate would have had great difficulty winning two decades ago: Montana, Alaska, North Dakota, Idaho, Minnesota -- once and for all debunking the notion, repeated by former President Bill Clinton during the bitterly contested January 26 South Carolina Democratic primary -- that a black candidate could not draw white voter support.
Moreover, Obama scored impressive victories in "red" states that have voted Republican in the last two general elections, including Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Utah.
Obama wasted no time Wednesday in seeking to convince Democrats that he offers the party its best hope of winning the White House this fall -- by warning that Republicans will have "a dump truck full" of dirt to unload on Clinton if the former first lady becomes the Democratic nominee.
At a news conference in Chicago, Obama offered some pointed advice to members of Congress and other party leaders who will attend the national convention this summer as "superdelegates" not chosen in primaries or caucuses.
He said that if he winds up winning more delegates in voting than the former first lady, they "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,'" he said.
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