York, PA:

In a wide ranging interview, John McCain talked to Carl Cameron about a host of issues including his desire to see off-shore drilling now;  his use of humor in his ads; if he is close to making a decision on his VP pick; he also talked about the situation in Georgia.

Listen to the extended interview:

” I want to congratulate Governor Huckabee and his supporters on their success today. Not for the first time, he has surprised the rest of us….I salute you…And I want to congratulate Governor Romney as well on his wins today. He and I have been going at it pretty hard over the last few weeks, and he is a tough competitor….This election, like any election, is a rough and tumble business…But I have respect for people who are willing to accept the extraordinary demands, all the ups and downs, of such a tough and long contest. And Governor Romney has mine”

So said John McCain as he spoke to his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona. He arrived there earlier in the day .

He won New York, Arizona, Oklahoma, Delaware, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, California and Missouri AND won delegates in numerous other states won by Romney and Huckabee.

Huckabee swept the southern states with little organization or money. He won his home state as well as Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, with the help of evangelical voters, after gaining a victory in the West Virginia state convention early in the day.

He made it clear he was forging ahead:

“A lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two-man race,” Huckabee said in Little Rock Tuesday night. “Well, you know what — it is, and we’re in it.”

Romney’s wins included Massachusetts, along with North Dakota and Utah, where he got strong support from his fellow Mormons. He also won the Montana caucuses, Colorado and Minnesota. He too said the race was still on.

“We’re going to go all the way to the convention. We’re going to win this thing.”

The precise delegate count won’t be completed for a few days.

The tit for tat continues:

McCain called out Romney demanding an apology to Dole. Romney’s campaign said they tried to call Bob Dole unsuccessfully.

While this dust-up continues McCain finds himself in a tighter than expected battle for some of the Super Tuesday states while taking hits for not being conservative enough….Romney could get upset by Huckabee in some southern and midwest states. Huck is doing better than expected and it could be that the Peach state ends up in the win column for him. He also won 18 delegates in West Virginia. (see earlier post)……
This Super Tuesday delegate race could go late into night. Mccain’s hoped- for blow-out may be evaporating. In California and Missouri, Romney appears to have made up some ground.
McCain looks like a smaller winner than expected and Huckabee may be splitting a big part of self described conservatives with Romney.