WASHINGTON Tuesday dawns as the biggest day of uncertainty in the 2008 presidential campaign, one that already has destroyed conventional wisdom.
John McCain, Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani all can attest to that. Arizona Sen. McCain is resurrected as front-runner of a Republican Party that remains uneasy about him. Illinois Sen. Obama has shed doubts about his experience to draw even with the once heavily favored establishment Democrat, Hillary Rodham Clinton. And former New York Mayor Giuliani’s once-promising challenge wilted in his only real test in Florida.
Today’s voting in 24 states from sea to sea creates opportunities for even more surprises, especially among Democrats, whose nomination fight has become a historic struggle between Clinton and Obama. The contest increasingly appears to be headed for late-winter and spring showdowns.
Since Democrats apportion convention delegates based on vote percentages, neither is likely to come out of Tuesday with a prohibitive claim on the nomination unless there is yet another surprise turn in the nomination road.
Among Republicans, McCain appears poised to have a big day Tuesday. He leads former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in most key Super Tuesday states, although California the biggest prize of all appears to be so close that its primary could be unsettled well into the night or early Wednesday.