Clinton backs Barack Obama

In her last rally as a presidential candidate, Clinton expressed deep gratitude to the voters who had cast ballots for her. She suspended her campaign, rather than officially ending it. That8217;s a technicality that will allow her to raise money to retire her debt and to control the delegates she won. It is not an indication that she has any intention of resuming it.

Obama stayed away because he understood this was her moment.

Clinton offered nothing less than a full-throated endorsement for and embrace of Obama and his candidacy. She has said many times that she would work her heart out for the nominee, and aides said she knew that now was the time to begin to show it.

In a letter on her website, Clinton expressed her support for Obama in this way: 8220;Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

Clinton continued, saying: I 8220;extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.8221;

If it was an end for Clinton, it was a new beginning for Obama. Aides said he would take advantage of the nearly nationwide reach of his expansive get-out-the-vote operation that he built during the long Democratic nomination battle 8212; as well as his considerable financial resource8212; to try to force McCain to compete in states which are usually reliably Republican.

On Monday, Obama will travel to North Caroli 8212; a state that has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 32 years 8212; to start a two-week tour of speeches, town hall forums, and other appearances intended to highlight differences with McCain on the economy. From there, he heads to Missouri, which last voted for a Democrat in 1996. His first campaign swing after securing the Democratic presidential nomination last week was to Virginia, which last voted Democratic in 1964.

With Clinton now out of the race, Obama wants to define the faltering economy as the paramount issue facing the country, a task made easier by ever-rising gasoline prices and the sharp rise in unemployment reported by the Government on Friday. McCain, by contrast, has been emphasising national security more than any other issue and has made it clear that he would like to fight the election primarily on that ground.

Obama has moved in recent days to transform his primary organisation into a general election machine, hiring staff members, sending organisers into important states and preparing a television advertisement campaign to present his views and his biography to millions of Americans who followed the Democratic contest from a distance.

In one telling example, he is moving to hire Aaron Pickrell, the chief political strategist of Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio 8212; who helped steer Clinton to victory in that state8217;s primary 8212; to run his effort against McCain there. In another, aides said, he has tapped Dan Carroll, an opposition researcher who gained fame digging up information on the records of opponents for Bill Clinton in 1992, to help gather information about McCain. That is the latest evidence that for all the talk on both sides about a new kind of politics, the general election campaign is likely to be bloody.

Obama8217;s campaign is likely to hire Patti Solis Doyle, who was Clinton8217;s longtime associate and campaign manager until a shake-up in February, the first of what Obama8217;s aides said would be a number of hires from the Clinton campaign.

Recognising the extent to which Republicans view Michelle Obama as a potential liability, given her strong views and personality, Obama8217;s aides said they were preparing to bring in for her senior operatives from previous Democratic presidential campaigns, a clear departure from the typical way the spouse of a candidate is staffed.

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