Morning after

Hillary bows out, backs Obama

WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton said she will formally bow out of her marathon campaign for the White House on Saturday and throw her full support behind Democratic rival Barack Obama.

In a letter to supporters, she said she would use an event in Washington to thank her backers and urge the party to unite behind Obama, who secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination on Tuesday. “I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Obama if he were the Democratic Party’s nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise,” said Senator Clinton in the letter, published in various media reports.

Hillary had so far refused to concede defeat, saying she would deliberate in the coming days. “I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise,” the letter said.

Obama has already turned his focus to the five-month general-election fight for the White House against Republican John McCain and announced a three-member team to head his search for a vice presidential candidate. Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John Kennedy, will head a team of three vetting prospective running mates.  Near the top of the agenda in their search will be questions about a possible teaming with Clinton, who has indicated interest in the job.

“We’re going to be having a conversation in coming weeks, and I’m very confident how unified the party’s going to be to win in November,” Obama said when asked about Clinton. In his victory speech, Obama hinted at a role for Clinton somewhere in his administration if he is elected. If he overlooked her for VP, it has been speculated he could put her in charge of health, her pet issue.