KEY POINTS:
Inching towards the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidential election, a beaming Barack Obama ignited rolling chants of "Yes we can" in a packed Tampa arena yesterday at the start of a three-day visit to Florida n a state that is nonetheless littered with potholes for his campaign.
Disqualified from helping to choose the party's nominee because it held its primary election too early, a disconsolate Florida is finally in the spotlight and hosting all the players in this year's presidential drama. John McCain was in Miami on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton stopped there yesterday.
Mrs Clinton's purpose for being in the Sunshine State was very specific: to underscore what she says is the travesty of barring Florida delegates from the Democratic nominating convention in Denver in August along with those from Michigan, which also broke the primary election rules.
After being clobbered by Mrs Clinton in Kentucky on Tuesday but having beaten her in Oregon, Mr Obama has now amassed a majority of all delegates pledged during the state-by-state primary process.
It is with Mr McCain and November in mind, therefore, that he has come to Florida. Yet he faces enormous challenges here, not least anger that he should have agreed to boycott Florida's primary.
"Welcome to Tampa Bay," the St Petersburg Times newspaper told the Illinois senator yesterday. "We wish you would have shown up months ago to ask for our votes instead of just our campaign contributions."Still, Mr Obama seemed ebullient when he showed up at Tampa's St Pete Times Forum in front of a 20,000-strong crowd.
He will also have been buoyed by a Reuters-Zogby poll yesterday showing him widening his lead nationally to eight points in a head-to-head contest with Mr McCain. "It is good to be back in Florida," Mr Obama began, a little riskily.
"After campaigning in every state, just about, I am here to report that my bet has paid off. And we are at the threshold of being able to obtain this nomination." He also paid tribute to Mrs Clinton, saying: "She has set the standard, she has broken through barriers and she has created opportunity for a lot of people, including my two young daughters.
"Recent history tells us that Florida will be crucial to both the Democratic and Republican parties when the election is held in November. But those in the state who are sceptical of Mr Obama include Jews, the growing Hispanic community and poorer voters in the Panhandle - the kind of blue-collar, rural terrain that has not warmed to him so far.
Jews account for about 5 per cent of the electorate and may have been swayed by internet smears suggesting he is a Muslim. Looming equally large is the struggle over future US policy on Cuba.
Indeed the debate has already started n with Mr McCain attacking Mr Obama for saying that he would consider easing parts of George Bush's measures on Cuba and sitting down with the island's new leader, Raul Castro.
Mr McCain, meanwhile, suffered another setback when his long-serving media guru, Mark McKinnon, left his campaign team, honouring a pledge he made last year not to be part of any contest against Mr Obama, whom he openly admires.
In recent days, Mr McCain has lost five senior advisers amid revelations about their ties to lobbying firms or roles consulting for foreign governments. Mr McCain's strategy will rely on sticking to a hardline approach to Cuba.
In a speech marking Cuban Independence Day, he tried to ridicule Mr Obama for saying he would "sit down unconditionally" with Mr Castro. "This would send the worst possible message," Mr McCain said.
- INDEPENDENT
