OBAMA CLAIMS $32 MILLION RAISED IN JANUARY

Senator Obama’s campaign said yesterday it had raised $32 million in January, the most money any candidate has raised in a single month during the 2008 presidential race. The Illinois senator was boosted by victories in the Iowa caucuses and the South Carolina primary, but his campaign manager, David Plouffe, said the most money poured in after his surprise loss to Senator Clinton in New Hampshire. The campaign added 170,000 new donors to its rolls, bringing its total to more than 650,000, Mr. Plouffe told reporters in a conference call.

The cash infusion, which matches the campaign’s biggest haul for a three-month period in 2007, allows Mr. Obama to buy advertising not only in most of the 22 states that vote February 5, but also in several that hold primaries soon afterward, including Maryland and Virginia.

The campaigns are now planning for a primary race that could extend into the spring. “We think that the strength of our financial position and the number of donors does speak to financial sustainability if it ends up going through March and April,” Mr. Plouffe said.

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign did not disclose how much she had raised in January, which suggested the figure was less than Mr. Obama’s total. “We have all the resources we need to compete and win in this contest,” a spokesman, Blake Zeff, said.

PRESIDENT CLINTON DUE TO REVIEW WIFE’S SCHEDULE PAPERS

With the Democratic presidential contest reaching a crescendo, President Clinton is being handed a hot potato — 10,000 pages of daily schedules from Senator Clinton’s time as first lady. A spokeswoman for the National Archives said archivists expected to complete processing of the documents by the end of this week. The next step is for the records to be sent to Mr. Clinton’s representative, Bruce Lindsey.

Under federal rules, he has 30 days to look them over and can seek more time from the Archives. However, any delay could be a political problem for Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, since her opponent, Senator Obama, has pressed for disclosure of more records from the Clinton White House.

Mr. Clinton has said he wants records released quickly and he has blamed delays on short staffing at the National Archives.

However, official data indicate that Mr. Clinton’s aides have taken an average of nine months to examine records proposed for release, a longer period than other former presidents have taken.

Lawyers for President Bush will also have a chance to look over Mrs. Clinton’s schedules before they become public.

GIULIANI SUPPORTERS HEAD TO McCAIN

A day after Mayor Giuliani ended his presidential bid, many of his top supporters are joining him in endorsing Senator McCain. Governor Perry of Texas became the most prominent Giuliani backer to switch to the Arizona senator, citing Mr. McCain’s national security credentials. With its election on March 4, Texas could play a decisive role if the Republican race extends beyond next Tuesday, when more than half the country is set to vote.

Mr. McCain also picked up the support of Mr. Giuliani’s national policy director, Bill Simon, who had joined the former mayor’s campaign early on after serving as a prosecutor alongside him in New York. Mr. Simon was the Republican nominee for governor of California in 2002.

A number of Giuliani supporters in New York and New Jersey have also gotten behind Mr. McCain, including the majority leader of the New York state Senate, Joseph Bruno.

OBAMA DEEMED ‘MOST LIBERAL’

A respected Washington policy magazine, National Journal, ranked Senator Obama as America’s most liberal senator based on floor votes in 2007.