A Huge Weekend Sweep for Barack Obama; A Major Shakeup Tonight in the Clinton Camp
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A huge weekend sweep for Barack Obama. How he grabbed four states from Hillary Clinton plus a major shakeup tonight in the Clinton camp. Could this switcheroo give Clinton an edge over Obama? Plus --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody ought to have their own freedom to worship for whatever they want to worship for. I mean, I wouldn't want somebody tell me that I can't be a Baptist.</s>HARRIS: Swastikas, races graffiti and a mosque burned to the ground. What prompted this awful crime? And, "Go away," that's what one mayor told the U.S. Marines in his town. Now he's under fire. And later --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are attracted, you want to find out if there's more to her than meets the eye. Go in right away. If you waited any little longer, you may still look</s>HARRIS: What? Obviously the game has changed since I was -- well, OK. These pickup artists are teaching men the new way to catch women and it's not cheap. We'll explain just in time for Valentine's Day. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. And good evening, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And tonight, the Democratic race to the White House narrows even more in scope. Another contest, another win for Barack Obama. Let's take main hands in his latest victory tonight. It comes on the heels of a sweep of three states yesterday and as his campaign gains momentum, what is Senator Hillary Clinton's next step? CNN's senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, joins us. She's on the phone with us. Candy, good to talk to you. Tell us about the shakeup in the Clinton camp.</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have a new campaign manager. These are people that have always been close to Hillary Clinton. The campaign used to be run by a woman named Patti Solis Doyle, who was a long-time Clinton aide. In fact, it was a scheduler for Hillary Clinton in the White House. After Iowa, there was some talk that there was going to be a shakeup in next campaign. That's when Hillary Clinton placed third. Then New Hampshire was pretty good. But in the meantime, they brought off another Clinton loyalist. So the campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, has left. She's been replaced by a woman named Maggie Williams, who is a close friend of Hillary Clinton. Now, let's face it. You don't change campaign managers if you're happy with the campaign.</s>HARRIS: Yes.</s>CROWLEY: You know, there's been a streak of Barack Obama wins and, probably more importantly, they have been out-raced and out-spent for the month of January. So they have made the switch.</s>HARRIS: OK. Candy Crowley for us. Candy, appreciate it. Thank you. And on Tuesday, the Potomac primaries. Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., all holding presidential contest. So when you add up what's happened over last 48 hours, then adding what could happen over the next 48, what do you get? Another surprise like Obama winning Maine? Time to bring in CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser. Paul, good to talk to you. OK. What do you think? Tuesday, the Potomac primaries? What is this? This stretch of primaries favor here?</s>PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I think they got to favor Barack Obama. Take a look at the states and the District of Columbia. You know, Maryland is almost 30 percent African- American, Virginia about 20 percent. And here in the District of Columbia, over half of the population here is African-American. And when you look at Democratic primary voters in this contest, it's even more African-American. Now Barack Obama has done extremely well with blacks and you would think that he will continue to do well. One of the things in his favor on Tuesday, Virginia. It's an open primary, which means independents can vote in that primary. And Barack Obama has done very well with independent voters. So you would think that if everything matches up, he's going to do well on Tuesday.</s>HARRIS: Well, Paul, if you're in the Clinton camp, where are you looking for some kind of relief here? Are you looking to maybe March 4th and Ohio? What do you do here?</s>STEINHAUSER: Yes. You're looking deep into the heart of Texas and you're looking at Ohio as well. Ohio has got a large union population and it's got a lot of -- well, you know, blue-collar population as well. Clinton has done very well with those kind of voters. The economy is a -- you know, it's a big issue all across the country but especially in Ohio. And when it comes to the economy, where people say that's their most important issue, they tend to vote for Clinton more than Obama. So you would think she would do well there. Texas, another state with a large number of delegates on the March 4th. That state has a large number of Latino voters. And exit polls, which are -- you know, surveys of voters as they leave the polling stations, they show that Clinton has done extremely well with Latino voters. So the Clinton camp is looking to March 4th. The problem is -- that's a couple of weeks down the road and the momentum seems to be building for Obama. She needs to do something.</s>HARRIS: Yes. What was the turnout like in Maine? I know that's something that you follow closely.</s>STEINHAUSER: You know, the turnout -- and it was snowing up there in Maine. I'm not used to snow up there, but it was snowing today. It turnout it was very large. I don't know if it was a record. I need to check the numbers. But it's something we've seen in the Democratic contests. You know, so far this year. More people are voting in the Democratic contest than the voting in a Republican contest. And I think there's a reason. Democratic voters are energized. They were energized in 2006 and what happened? The Democrats took back Congress. They want to take back the White House. They want it badly. It's been almost eight years now where the Republicans in the White House. They're energized. There are more people voting in Democratic contests than Republican contests.</s>HARRIS: There he is. Got a lot of face time lately. All right, I'll see you. Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser. Paul, great to see you. Thanks for your time this evening.</s>STEINHAUSER: Take care, Tony.</s>HARRIS: OK. The Republican race is really a two-man contest. The far frontrunners, Senator John McCain and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who chipped away a bit this weekend at McCain's overwhelming advantage. CNN's Mary Snow is with team Huckabee.</s>MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One day, after scoring a big win in Kansas and another one in Louisiana, Mike Huckabee came here to the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. This is church founded by the late Reverend Jerry Falwell. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister himself, put presidential politics out of his remarks and instead, focused on morality. It is here in Virginia where Mike Huckabee is hoping to gain momentum among conservative voters -- trying to portray himself as the real conservative. But he lacks far behind Senator John McCain. McCain congratulated Huckabee Saturday night on his win. But his campaign said the reality is that McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee. But Huckabee is fighting for every last delegate and his campaign is even challenging the results from the Washington caucuses, sending a legal team there -- saying that the votes were counted too quickly and they say they're exploring legal options. Mary Snow, CNN, Lynchburg, Virginia.</s>HARRIS: OK. You know, at this stage in the game when the candidates talk about votes, they're really talking about delegates. Get enough delegates on your side and bam, you're the nominee. The delegate gap between Republicans, Huckabee and McCain is fairly wide. Some say unbridgeable. Not so between the Democrats. Read the numbers along with me here. These are CNN's latest calculations. So far, just 27 delegates separate Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That is tight, tight, tight. Meantime, the former rival, John Edwards, has a decision to make. Will he endorse Clinton or Obama? Decision may be coming despite some advisers encouraging Edwards not to endorse. Edwards has already met with Senator Clinton and will meet with Barack Obama. That's scheduled to happen tomorrow. The woman with an eye on the title, first lady, gets some one-on one-time with our very own "LARRY KING LIVE" tomorrow. Michelle Obama set to appear live with CNN on "LARRY KING LIVE." That's tomorrow evening. Lawyer, Harvard grad, mother of two and 15 years spouse of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Her exclusive interview with the best in the business. "LARRY KING LIVE." That's tomorrow evening at 9 Eastern. By now, you know, CNN equals politics. We have the Best Political Team On Television and online. You can log on to cnn.com/politics for the latest election results and you can hear the candidates live and unfiltered. And there is a wrestling match on the stump for the black and Latino vote. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- who's appealing to whom and why? Plus, state of emergency and evacuations in Virginia as wildfires threaten to destroy homes and livelihoods.