The three senators closest to the remaining White House candidates met Wednesday for a preview of general election strategies and a continued debate over the way forward in the Democratic nomination battle.

Democratic Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) were on hand to represent Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), respectively, while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) stood in for his friend, presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

Graham said he thinks McCain’s path to victory in November lies with independent voters, and he insisted McCain’s base will turn out once it sees the Democratic nominee more clearly.

“Just because of the dynamics, I think the red states are going to be there for John,” he said.

At the same time, Graham said, “This election will be more than just base turnout.” He predicted McCain will run strongly in states where Republicans haven’t been competitive in recent years, and pointed to New Hampshire, California and the Southwest as examples.

“His ability to break away from the party ideology and do what’s right for the country is going to play everywhere,” Graham said.

Both Bayh and Durbin, predictably, disputed McCain’s general election appeal. They reiterated the recurring Democratic argument that McCain is offering another four years of President Bush’s policies, particularly on Iraq and the economy.

Bayh said McCain “has embraced the economic policy of George Bush and the Iraq policy of Dick Cheney.”

“That’s not really a winning combination,” Bayh said.

Durbin echoed criticism that Obama has been offering of the Arizona Republican in recent days that challenges McCain’s assertion that the U.S. could be in Iraq for 100 years.

The McCain campaign has vigorously disputed Obama’s “mischaracterization” of McCain’s statement, and Graham leaped to his defense on Wednesday.

“John didn’t say, ‘I hope we’re at war with Iraq for 100 years because I love it,’ ” Graham said. “That’s not fair.”

Durbin said, “The context I’ll leave up to John McCain to explain.”

Bayh and Durbin were also asked about the increasingly contentious Democratic nomination battle.

Bayh, whose home state of Indiana holds a primary this spring, said Clinton needs to win the “majority” of the remaining 10 contests to become the Democratic nominee. He said Clinton could very well end up winning the popular vote, and he repeatedly mentioned a need to find a solution to the Florida/Michigan problem.

Durbin said Obama has “rewritten the rules of American politics,” and the excitement he has generated throughout the primary season should be indicative of Obama’s ability to “start to rewrite the map” in a general election.

Bayh and Durbin also discussed what they see as a way to ease whatever division the party faces once the dust has settled from Obama and Clinton’s epic nomination fight.

Bayh said he didn’t want “to put the horse before the cart,” but Clinton would need to reach out to Obama’s supporters and the senator himself, possibly with an invitation to join the ticket. The Indiana senator declined to say if Obama would be “obligated” to accept Clinton’s offer to be her running mate.

“He needs to do what he thinks is right,” Bayh said.

The two Democrats argued over which candidate would be stronger in a general election, with Durbin arguing that Obama can compete better in Republican states and Bayh pointing to Clinton’s wins in key swing states like Ohio and Florida.

Bayh said Clinton has shown she can win with what he sees as the “key demographic: Reagan Democrats.”

“That’s her sweet spot,” he said.