Americas

The pair’s hard-fought nominating duel featured a sharp exchange on Monday over Obama’s uncredited use of a political ally’s speech lines, the latest in a series of sometimes harsh charges between the two White House contenders.
Public opinion polls show Obama and Clinton in a tight race in Wisconsin, where Obama aims to extend his string of eight straight victories in Democratic nominating contests. Obama, a Hawaii native, is a heavy favorite in that state.
Up for grabs in the two states are a combined 94 delegates to the August convention that selects the Democratic presidential nominee in November’s election. Obama has a slight lead in pledged delegates won in state presidential contests.
The pair already have turned their attention to March 4 contests in two of the biggest states, Ohio and Texas, which have a rich lode of 334 convention delegates at stake.
Clinton is the early favorite in both, although one public opinion poll in Texas on Monday showed the race in a statistical dead heat. Clinton headed to Ohio on Monday night. Obama travels to Texas on Tuesday.
Voting ends in Wisconsin at 8 p.m. CST (9 p.m. EST/0200 GMT on Wednesday), with results expected soon afterward. Sub-freezing temperatures and blowing snow are expected across the state, but officials still expect a big turnout.
Democrats open their caucuses for presidential preference voting in Hawaii at 7 p.m. HST (midnight EST/0500 GMT on Wednesday).
Obama and Clinton traded charges on Monday over the Illinois senator’s use of speech lines from a friend and ally, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Obama said he should have credited Patrick but dismissed the controversy as no big deal.
But Clinton said the incident cast doubt on the authenticity of Obama’s rhetoric -- one of the Illinois senator’s biggest selling points.
"If your whole candidacy is about words, they should be your own words. That’s what I think," Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, told reporters.
‘JUST WORDS’
The speech flap stemmed from a Democratic Party dinner in Milwaukee on Saturday, when Obama rejected Clinton’s criticism he is all words and no action. "Don’t tell me words don’t matter," Obama said.
"‘I have a dream’ -- just words? ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’ -- just words?’" Obama said at the dinner. The lines, drawn from U.S. history, were similar to a Patrick speech from his successful 2006 Massachusetts campaign for governor.
Obama told reporters in Niles, Ohio, that Patrick suggested he use the lines but that he should have acknowledged Patrick as the author.
"I’m sure I should have -- didn’t this time," he said. "I really don’t think this is too big of a deal."
Public opinion polls offered mixed results ahead of the Wisconsin vote, with most showing a slight lead for Obama. Both camps tried to lower expectations.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe noted Wisconsin has a large population of the blue-collar workers and rural voters who have been a big part of Clinton’s constituency, and few of the black voters who have overwhelmingly supported Obama.
The primary also is an open contest allowing participation by Republicans and independents, not the small, closed caucus states where Obama has performed well.
"By their own definition, this should be very friendly terrain for them," Plouffe told reporters. "We think this is going to be a real competitive contest."
Republicans in Washington state also will hold a primary, which is the second half of their two-tiered nominating contest. The state’s Republicans held a caucus on Feb. 9, won narrowly by Republican front-runner John McCain.
McCain, an Arizona senator, has a huge and essentially insurmountable lead in delegates over his last remaining major rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. The voting ends for Washington Republicans at 8 p.m. PST (11 p.m. EST/0400 GMT on Wednesday).

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