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Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton campaigns at American Legion Mall in India
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April 24, 2008, 10:30
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama entered the final phase of an increasingly nasty US presidential fight today, with Clinton saying her decisive Pennsylvania win proved she was the best candidate to lead the Democrats back to the White House.
Clinton's victory boosted her depleted bank account and gave new hope to her struggling campaign, but the New York senator still faced a nearly impossible task trying to overcome Obama's lead in pledged delegates who will help pick the Democratic presidential nominee at the party's convention in August.
Clinton said Obama's failure to knock her out of the race, despite outspending her in Pennsylvania more than 2-to-1, cast doubt on his ability to capture the big states Democrats need in November's election race against Republican John McCain.
"I've won the states we have to win - Ohio, now Pennsylvania," Clinton told CNN. "If you look at the broad base of support that I have accumulated, it really is the foundation on which we build our victory come the fall."
Both Democratic candidates looked to the next round of contests on May 6 in North Carolina, where Obama is favored, and Indiana, which is considered a toss-up. The two states have a combined 187 delegates at stake.
Obama determined to fight on
Obama said he would battle through the final nine contests ending on June 3 and then make his case to the party's undecided super delegates who are likely to decide the Democratic presidential nominee. With more than 99% of the vote counted, Clinton led Obama in Pennsylvania 54.6% to 45.4%, the state's elections division said.
The win paid immediate financial dividends for Clinton, who by midday had raised $5 million since the polls closed on Tuesday and was aiming for another $5 million more by the end of the day, aides said. Clinton's campaign had more than $10 million in debts at the end of March. An MSNBC count showed Clinton sliced Obama's national delegate lead by nine in Pennsylvania. Obama now has 1 726 delegates to Clinton's 1 593, short of the 2 024 needed to clinch the nomination.
Neither candidate can win without help from super delegates - nearly 800 party insiders who are free to support either Obama or Clinton. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said he expected those super delegates to move toward the winner and end the nomination fight sometime after June 3.
Democrats worried
Democrats have become increasingly worried about the negative tone of the race, and exit polls showed Pennsylvania voters shared the concern. About two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters thought Clinton unfairly attacked Obama, while about half thought Obama had unfairly attacked Clinton, the polls showed.
But Clinton won 58% of those who decided in the last week, when Obama was on the defensive in a debate over a series of campaign controversies and Clinton questioned his toughness in an advertisement featuring images of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The North Carolina Republican Party launched an advertisement in the state criticising Obama and his controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who has come under fire for inflammatory views including saying the US government spread the Aids virus to blacks.
McCain asked the state party to withdraw the ad, which also criticised Democratic North Carolina candidates for governor Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore for their endorsements of Obama and called him "too extreme for North Carolina."
Obama and Clinton both campaigned in Indiana yesterday, before heading back to Washington for a Senate vote. - Reuters
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