WASHINGTON (AFP) — Democrats groped for ways to avert civil war at their presidential convention in August, as Barack Obama obliterated fundraising records in his corrosive fight against Hillary Clinton.
The Republicans' new standard-bearer, Senator John McCain, capitalized on the Democratic infighting to portray himself as the only candidate with the mettle and experience to be commander-in-chief.
Obama, regrouping after his bruising defeats by Clinton in Ohio and Texas on Tuesday, admitted to "mistakes" over the long campaign, but said Democratic voters clearly did not want the race over yet.
"They want me to earn this thing and not feel as if I'm just sliding into it," he told ABC News late Thursday, while signaling a tougher riposte to a barrage of attacks from Clinton over his readiness to lead.
"We're going to have to make sure that we're not just letting a bunch of charges go unanswered," he said.
With the Democrats facing weeks of brawling, party boss Howard Dean was under pressure to convene new votes in Florida and Michigan after the two states were stripped of their delegates for holding their primaries early. Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a Clinton supporter, said a solution was needed urgently to avoid disenfranchising five million people in two states that will be major battlegrounds of the November election.
"Otherwise, we've got a big train wreck that's coming (at the convention)," he said.
Both Obama and Clinton said they were open to a solution for the Florida-Michigan puzzle, but left it to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to work out a solution.
DNC chairman Dean, however, said it was up to the states themselves to find a way to repeat their January nominating contests to abide by party rules.
The DNC was at odds with the two states over who would foot the bill for new ballots, with the cost of a primary in Florida alone estimated by state officials to range from 18 to 25 million dollars.
The Democratic contenders were scheduled to hold dueling rallies in Wyoming on Friday, the day before state caucuses. The Mississippi primary was next up Tuesday, but the biggest prize on the horizon is Pennsylvania on April 22.
According to RealClearPolitics.com, Obama now has 1,573 delegates to Clinton's 1,464.
Neither candidate is likely to reach the total of 2,025 needed for the party's nomination in August, even with Michigan and Florida back in play, although repeats there would shed light on who has the popular edge.
So the presidential hopefuls could be set for a prime-time war at the convention in Denver, Colorado, battling to capture the loyalties of the nearly 800 "superdelegates" who are free to vote for either candidate.
One superdelegate staying neutral so far, Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, told MSNBC that he was "very concerned about unity going forward."
"I want to make sure we can bring our party together not just to win (in November) but win with a mandate," he said.
Both the Democratic contenders will need deep pockets for the long haul ahead as they scrap for each and every delegate.
Clinton's campaign raised 35 million dollars last month, her best monthly performance yet, and said Thursday it had raised four million dollars online in less than 48 hours since her lifesaving victories on Tuesday.
Obama's campaign hit back by announcing a February take of 55 million dollars, confirming widespread reports last week that his army of grass-roots donors had put him on course to demolish fundraising records.
In an email to supporters, Obama appealed for new donations to counter Clinton's "negative, throw-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink campaign," and the now "daily" attacks from McCain.
Those attacks resumed as McCain and Obama sparred over Cuba, while the Republican said that neither Clinton nor Obama "have the experience or judgment necessary to lead the United States" against Islamic extremists.
But the former first lady brandished her own national security credentials at a Washington meeting with 11 retired military commanders.
Fresh from a phone conversation with King Abdullah of Jordan about the latest crisis in the Middle East peace drive, Clinton said: "Often when lives are on the line and a decision must be made, experience counts for everything."
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