AP: Obama nears win amid signs Clinton may admit loss

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080603/D91291JG0.html

By DAVID ESPO

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama pushed close to victory in the marathon Democratic presidential race Monday on the eve of a final pair of primaries amid signs that Hillary Rodham Clinton was preparing to acknowledge defeat.

Said a confident-sounding Obama: "I told her that once the dust settled I'm looking forward to meeting with her at a time and place of her choosing." That was from a conversation the two rivals had on Sunday night. He did not describe her response.

He also said he would begin thinking about a vice presidential running mate "the day after I have gotten that last delegate needed to officially claim the nomination."


Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., meets with workers at the Rite-Aid Distribution Center during a campaign stop in Waterford, Mich., Monday, June 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)


The former first lady gave no public hint of quitting the race, and she has said repeatedly she might continue her candidacy even beyond the end of the primaries.

But her husband, former President Clinton, strongly suggested otherwise. "This may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," he said as he worked for his wife in South Dakota.

Obama, bidding to become the first black major party nominee in history, was 41.5 delegates shy of the 2,118, needed to clinch the nomination at the party's convention in Denver, according to The Associated Press count. He gained 5.5 delegates during the day Monday, including Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a member of the House leadership who scheduled a formal announcement for Tuesday.

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