Obama surges on eve of 'Super Tuesday'

Barack Obama wiped out White House foe Hillary Clinton's large nationwide poll leads and chased her in key states, on the frenzied eve of ''Super Tuesday,'' a unique countrywide nominating showdown.The cliffhanger Democratic race contrasted with signs that Senator John McCain would all but settle the Republican nominating fight on Tuesday, and complete one of the most staggering comebacks in recent political history.The former first lady clung to a 45-44 point lead in a USA Today/Gallup national poll after the Illinois senator ignited a wave of momentum with his landslide primary victory in South Carolina last month.A CNN/Opinion Research national poll out today had Clinton narrowly leading Obama 49 per cent to 46 per cent, within the poll's 4.5 per cent margin of error, suggesting tightening contests countrywide.A CBS/New York Times poll had the national race deadlocked at 41 per cent. In early January, Clinton had led by 15 per cent.Targeted surveys in Clinton strongholds, which hold contests on Tuesday, like California, New York and New Jersey also suggested Obama's campaign was the one with most energy and momentum.Though he was making most of the headlines with a string of endorsements and a mammoth $32 million fund-raising push in January, she was banking on under-the-radar core support among women and blue collar workers.Clinton led Obama 53 to 39 per cent in her home state of New York in a new Quinnipiac University poll, but the same survey had the race narrowing in neighbouring New Jersey with the former first lady leading 48 to 43 per cent.