UNITED STATES:AFTER HILLARY Clinton's formal withdrawal from the presidential race, Barack Obama and John McCain are preparing for months of tough campaigning through the summer as each seeks to shape the electoral map for November's election.
Mrs Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed Mr Obama at a rally in Washington on Saturday, promising to work to secure his election and urging her supporters to campaign for him.
"The way to continue our fight now - to accomplish the goals for which we stand - is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States," she said.
Mr Obama said he was "thrilled" to receive Mrs Clinton's support and praised her campaign as valiant and historic.
"She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere, who now know that there are no limits to their dreams, and she inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans.
"Our party and our country are stronger because of the work she has done throughout her life, and I'm a better candidate for having had the privilege of competing with her in this campaign," Mr Obama added.
Mr Obama will be campaigning today in North Carolina, a state Democrats have not won since 1976, at the start of a two-week tour that will focus on economic issues.
The Democrat is also planning a series of television ads focusing on his biography, in an effort to pre-empt Republican attacks aimed at defining him in a negative light.
Mr Obama's fundraising prowess could allow him to compete in states like North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, which Democrats do not expect to win in November, but where they could force Mr McCain to spend scarce resources.
In a strategy briefing for reporters, Mr McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis acknowledged that the current political environment is "one of the worst in modern history for Republicans".
Mr Davis said that if the Republican was to win, he must appeal to independent voters and disaffected Democrats, many of whom have long viewed Mr McCain with approval. Mr Davis said the campaign would be targeting Democrats who voted for Mrs Clinton in the primary campaign.
"We have seen significant uptick in calls from states that have those voters. They have a lot of people who want to play with us," he said.
Mr McCain's latest advertising campaign is running in 10 states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which John Kerry won in 2004.New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News have offered to host the first of a series of proposed presidential "town hall" meetings between Mr McCain and Mr Obama.
Mr McCain last week asked Mr Obama to join him in 10 meetings in the coming months, and campaign managers for both sides said they had agreed in spirit to schedule some joint appearances.
"We look forward to beginning a conversation on how best to create an event that will honour our nation's founding spirit and respect the voters' desire to engage in a thoughtful discussion of the critical issues facing America and the world," Mr Bloomberg and ABC News president David Westin wrote in a letter to both candidates yesterday.