US:MICHIGAN Democrats have agreed to hold a new presidential primary in June after party leaders ruled out recognising delegates chosen by an unauthorised primary earlier this year.
Michigan and Florida were stripped of all their delegates to the party's nominating convention after they defied the Democratic National Committee (DNC) by holding primaries in January.
Mrs Clinton won both primaries, although none of the candidates campaigned in either state and Barack Obama's name was not even on the ballot in Michigan.
A group of leading Democrats in Michigan has been in talks with both campaigns to secure agreement on a new primary.
"This option would require the passage of legislation by the state legislature and we look forward to working with the members of the legislature in the coming days to see if this option can be made a reality," the Democrats said.
To go forward, any plan would require the approval of the two campaigns, the Democratic National Committee, state party leaders and Governor Jennifer Granholm, who has endorsed Mrs Clinton.
Florida Democrats said they will make a decision by Monday on whether to hold a new primary, an option for which there is little enthusiasm among the state's Democratic legislators.
Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton are focusing their efforts on Pennsylvania, the next state to vote on April 22nd, and the only remaining big state apart from Florida and Michigan.
A new Rasmussen poll published yesterday shows Mrs Clinton leading Mr Obama in Pennsylvania by 51 per cent to 38 per cent.
Mrs Clinton now leads by 25 per cent among women and is tied with Mr Obama among men. She has the support of 69 per cent of white women and leads among voters over 40 and those with incomes under $75,000 a year. Mr Obama leads 79 per cent to 13 per cent among African-American voters.
Even if Mrs Clinton wins Pennsylvania, she has an uphill task in catching up with Mr Obama among the delegates who will choose the Democratic nominee in August. After a week of controversial remarks by their surrogates, the candidates have agreed to behave more nicely in the future.
During a five-minute conversation in the senate on Thursday, Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama agreed to try to prevent their supporters from getting overheated, according to both campaigns.
"They approached one another and spoke about how supporters for both campaigns have said things they reject," said Mrs Clinton's spokesman Phil Singer. "They agreed that the contrasts between their respective records, qualifications and issues should be what drives this campaign, and nothing else."
Mr Obama yesterday responded to criticism of Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of his Chicago church, saying he "obviously disagrees" with his pastor that black Americans should sing "God Damn America" instead of God Bless America. The Rev Wright, a spiritual mentor for 20 years who inspired the title of Mr Obama's book The Audacity of Hope, complained in a 2003 sermon about the treatment of black Americans.
"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America. No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme," he said.
Five days after the attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Rev Wright told his congregation that the US had itself supported terrorism.
"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," he said. "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."
Mr Obama defended the Rev Wright's overall record, accusing critics of "cherry-picking" statements from a preacher with a 40-year career.
"There are times when people say things that are just wrong. But I think it's important to judge me on what I've said in the past and what I believe," he said.