The granddaughter of Republican former president Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower has endorsed Democratic hopeful Barack Obama for president, praising him for his inspiring words and his desire to work across party lines.
Susan Eisenhower wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece that Mr Obama 'is the one presidential candidate today who can encourage ordinary Americans to stand straight again; he is a man who can salve our national wounds and both inspire and pursue genuine bipartisan cooperation.'
Susan Eisenhower is part of a small but growing group dubbed 'Obama-cans,' or Republicans who support Obama's candidacy.
US presidential hopefuls launched a frantic blitz for votes heading into 'Super Tuesday'.
Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were criss-crossing the country over the weekend, touring places from California to New York and points in between ahead of Tuesday's primaries in nearly two dozen states.
The Tuesday vote will go far in determining who the Democratic and Republican party nominees are likely to be for the November presidential election.
To counter Mrs Clinton's appeal to women voters, the Obama campaign announced it is deploying the candidate's wife Michelle, TV megastar Oprah Winfrey, and Caroline Kennedy, daughter of president John F Kennedy.
The trio will be at a rally in Los Angeles tomorrow.
A new Gallup poll out yesterday shows Mr Obama gaining on Mrs Clinton, trailing by just three percentage points with 41% of the vote to 44% for Mrs Clinton.
The figures suggest Mr Obama is mopping up spare votes after John Edwards quit the race.
Other polls by Fox News and Rasmussen showed Mrs Clinton holding a six-point national margin over Mr Obama.
In the Republican race, John McCain will address rallies in Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia before arriving back in Washington late today.
The same Gallup poll gave Mr McCain a 15-point lead with 39% to 24% for Mitt Romney.
