WASHINGTON - On the rebound, Barack
Obama left Hillary Rodham Clinton with fast-dwindling chances to
deny him the Democratic presidential nomination after beating her in
North Carolina and falling just short in an Indiana cliffhanger.
Obama was on track to climb within
200 delegates of attaining the prize, his campaign finally steadying
after missteps fiercely exploited by the never-say-die Clinton.
His campaign dropped broad hints it
was time for the 270 remaining unaligned party figures known as
superdelegates to get off the fence and settle the nomination.
It was in that arena — even more
than in the scattered primaries left — that the Democratic
hyperdrama was bound to play out.
"You know, there are those who
were saying that North Carolina would be a game-changer in this
election," Obama told a roaring crowd in Raleigh, N.C., on
Tuesday night, referring to Clinton's hope that an upset there would
recast the race in her favor.
"But today what North Carolina
decided is that the only game that needs changing is the one in
Washington, D.C."
Clinton vowed to compete tenaciously
for West Virginia next week and Kentucky and Oregon after that, and
to press "full speed on to the White House."
But she risked running on fumes
without an infusion of cash, and made a direct fundraising pitch
from the stage in Indianapolis. "I need your help to continue
our journey," she said.
And she pledged anew that she would
support the Democratic nominee "no matter what happens," a
vow also made by her competitor.
In an overnight e-mail appeal for
donations, Obama said: "We have a clear path to victory."
But even as Obama took the day off
Wednesday to be with his family in Chicago, Clinton showed no public
signs of easing her pace. The campaign added a noon Wednesday
appearance in Shepherdstown, W. Va., to her schedule. On Thursday,
she planned to campaign in West Virginia, South Dakota and Oregon.
Polarizing, protracted and often
bitter, the contest is hardening divisions in the party, according
to exit polls from the two states.
A solid majority of each candidate's
supporters said they would not be satisfied if the other candidate
wins the nomination.
Fully one-third of Clinton's
supporters in Indiana and North Carolina went beyond mere
dissatisfaction to say they would vote for Republican John McCain
instead of Obama if that's the choice in the fall.
Obama scored a convincing victory of
about 14 points in North Carolina, where he'd been favored. Clinton
squeezed out a narrow margin in Indiana after a long night of
counting.
Racial divisions were stark.
In both states, Clinton won six in 10
white votes while Obama got nine in 10 black votes, exit polls
indicated.
It was a slightly better performance
than usual by Clinton among whites, while Obama's backing from
blacks was one of his highest winning percentages yet with that
group.
Against the backdrop of disunity,
pressure is certain to intensify on the superdelegates to declare
themselves and lasso Democrats together for the fall campaign
against McCain. They are not bound by results in primaries or
caucuses.
"There is an eagerness in the
party to get this done and move on," said David Axelrod, chief
Obama strategist. "There is no question that we can see the
finish line."
David Lutz, 53, of Trinity, N.C., who
lives on his Army pension and flea market sales, paid tribute to
Obama's resilience in explaining why he switched from supporting
Clinton in the final days.
"I finally got swayed Obama's
way," he said. "He's like a magician — he pulled a lot
of good tricks out of his hat."
A look at the night's numbers:
—Obama won at least 69 delegates
and Clinton at least 63 in the two states combined, with 55 still to
be divided between the two candidates.
—Obama's delegate total reached
1815.5 to 1,672 for Clinton in The Associated Press count, out of
2,025 needed to win the nomination.
—Obama won North Carolina 56-42,
with returns from 99 percent of precincts.
—Clinton won Indiana 51-49, with
returns from 99 percent of precincts.
And the races still ahead:
—28 delegates at stake in West
Virginia in a week.
—103 delegates up for grabs a week
later in Kentucky and Oregon.
—55 in Puerto Rico on June 1.
—31 in Montana and South Dakota on
June 3.
On Tuesday, Clinton fell short of the
Indiana blowout and the North Carolina upset that might have jarred
superdelegates into her camp in a big way.
They have continued trickling toward
Obama despite the fallout over his former pastor's racially divisive
remarks and Clinton's win in Pennsylvania two weeks ago.
Obama sounded increasingly focused on
the fall campaign.
"This primary season may not be
over, but when it is, we will have to remember who we are as
Democrats ... because we all agree that at this defining moment in
history — a moment when we're facing two wars, an economy in
turmoil, a planet in peril — we can't afford to give John McCain
the chance to serve out George Bush's third term," he said.
Clinton was joined at her rally by
her husband Bill, his face sunburned after campaigning in small-town
North Carolina, and their daughter, Chelsea.
The New York senator stressed the
issue that came to dominate the final days of the primaries in both
states, her call for a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline
tax. "I think it's time to give Americans a break this
summer," she said.
Obama opposes the tax suspension,
calling it a gimmick.
The impact of a long-running
controversy over the Illinois senator's former pastor, the Rev.
Jeremiah Wright, was difficult to measure.
In North Carolina, six in 10 voters
who said Wright's remarks affected their votes sided with Clinton. A
somewhat larger percentage of voters who said the pastor's remarks
did not matter supported Obama.
Obama and Clinton both planned to
campaign in the next primary states starting Thursday, after a day
in Washington. Obama headed to Chicago after his Raleigh speech
before coming to the capital.
___
Associated Press writers Tom Raum in
Raleigh, N.C., and Liz Sidoti in Indianapolis contributed to this
report.
