For Democrats, more to come after Super Tuesday

By Jeff Mason - Analysis

CHICAGO (Reuters) - This may take a while. That was the message for Democrats after Tuesday's multi-state nominating contest -- once expected to anoint a candidate for the U.S. presidential election -- ended up in a virtual tie between rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

After scrambling to visit some 22 states in less than two weeks, the candidates -- historic because of her gender and his race -- now face a slew of new state contests in what is likely to be a prolonged fight to win their party's nomination.

"It's going to be a bloodbath," said John Geer, professor of political science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Bloody or not, the protracted battle means both presidential hopefuls have more time to make their cases for the chance to fight the eventual Republican candidate in the November election.

Obama, an Illinois senator who has repeatedly argued that Clinton's fame as the wife of former President Bill Clinton gives her an advantage, will use the time to introduce himself to more voters and build on the momentum that has fueled his candidacy in recent weeks.

"The longer this goes on, the more he becomes better known," David Gergen, a former advisor to Republican and Democratic presidents, told Reuters.

"The more he's known, the better he does."

Clinton, he said, should use the time to hone her own message around one motivating theme.

Clinton advisors argued that, like Obama, voters were getting to know the New York senator better and Tuesday's results showed she had momentum of her own.

"Coming into tonight, there was a lot of media hype about Obama's momentum and it didn't materialize," said spokesman Doug Hattaway. "People are still getting to know Hillary in her own right."

Obama, 46, won 13 states on "Super Tuesday" and Clinton, 60, took eight, including populous California and New York. But because the nomination hinges on delegates, and the Democrats award delegates on a proportional basis, the delegate count after Tuesday's vote was likely to end up fairly even.

But as the battle moves to states such as Louisiana and Washington, Obama has both a financial edge -- he raised $32 million in January alone -- and the buzz of big crowds that show up at his events nationwide.

"This campaign for the presidency of the United States of America is different," he told a cheering audience on Tuesday night. "Our time has come."

LOOKING FORWARD

Clinton's crowds, though not as big as Obama's, seem to respond to her willingness to hold frequent question and answer sessions. She has called for four more debates with Obama, an attempt to display her command of key issues, generate free media coverage, and highlight his perceived inexperience.