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Barack Obama stepped to the brink of
victory in the Democratic presidential race Tuesday night,
defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Oregon primary and moving
within 100 delegates of the total needed to claim the prize at the
party convention this summer.


      "You have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination,"
he told cheering supporters in Iowa, the overwhelmingly white state
that launched him, a black, first-term senator from Illinois, on
his improbable path to victory last January.


      Obama lavished praise on Clinton, his rival in a race unlike any
other, and accused Republican John McCain of a campaign run by
lobbyists.


      "You are Democrats who are tired of being divided, Republicans
who no longer recognize the party that runs Washington,
independents who are hungry for change," he said, speaking to a
crowd on the grounds of the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines as well as
the millions around the country who will elect the nation's 44th
president in November.


      Clinton countered with a lopsided win in Kentucky, a victory
with scant political value in a race moving inexorably in Obama's
direction.


      The former first lady vowed to remain in the race, telling
supporters, "I'm more than determined than ever to see that every
vote is cast and every ballot is counted.


      But in a sign of confidence on the front-runner's part, party
officials said discussions were under way to send Paul Tewes, a top
Obama campaign aide, to the Democratic National Committee to
oversee operations for the fall campaign.
   

   And in a fresh sign that their race was coming to an end,
Clinton and Obama praised one another and pledged a united party
for the general election.


      "While we continue to go toe-to-toe for this nomination, we do
see eye-to-eye when it comes to uniting our party to elect a
Democratic president this fall," said Clinton, whose supporters
Obama will need if he is to end eight years of Republican rule in
the White House.


      Clinton won at least 37 delegates in the two states and Obama
won at least 23, according to an analysis of election returns by
The Associated Press. All the Kentucky delegates were awarded, but
there were still 43 to be allocated in Oregon, and Obama was in
line for many of them.


      He had 1,940 delegates overall, out of 2026 needed for the
nomination. Clinton had 1,759 according the latest tally by the AP.


      With about 30 percent of the votes counted in Oregon's unique
mail-in primary, Obama was gaining a 60 percent share to 40 percent
for Clinton.


      The former first lady's victory in Kentucky was bigger yet - 65
percent to 30 percent - and the exit polls underscored once more
the work Obama has ahead if he is to win over her voters.


      Almost nine in 10 ballots were cast by whites, and the former
first lady was winning their support overwhelmingly. She defeated
her rival among voters of all age groups and incomes, the college
educated and non-college educated, self-described liberals,
moderates and conservatives.

Gallery

Politics and Government News

Barack Obama stands at the brink of
victory in the Democratic presidential race.

Obama returns to Iowa for rally in Des Moines

Obama wins Oregon

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