US:BARACK OBAMA has asked his top donors to help Hillary Clinton pay off more than $10 million in campaign debts as the two former rivals prepare to campaign together.
Mrs Clinton's campaign owes more than $22 million, about half of which is a loan the candidate made herself, but Mr Obama's campaign made clear it would only help to pay off money owed to third parties.
Mrs Clinton will introduce Mr Obama to her leading fundraisers in Washington this evening and the two senators will appear together tomorrow at a rally in Unity, New Hampshire.
Mrs Clinton, who returned to the senate this week for the first time since she withdrew from the presidential race, yesterday urged Democratic congressmen to unite behind Mr Obama.
"There was a great mood and she offered scintillating remarks on our need for unity," said Florida congressman Alcee Hastings after a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus.
Some of Mrs Clinton's leading supporters have been slow to offer support to Mr Obama but the former first lady said yesterday that November's election was too important to allow party divisions.
"This is a make-or-break election and I am 100 per cent committed to make sure I do all I can to make sure Senator Obama is sworn in as the next president of the United States," she said.
The latest show of Democratic unity comes as opinion polls show Mr Obama widening his lead over Republican John McCain, whose campaign has suffered a number of upsets in recent days. A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll yesterday gave Mr Obama a 15-point lead over his Republican rival, with the Democrat holding a commanding lead on almost every policy issue.
Voters continue to view Mr McCain as the more experienced candidate and trust him to fight the "war on terror", but Mr Obama has a three-to-two advantage on handling the economy and most voters prefer his healthcare and tax plans.
Mr McCain faces a major challenge in the shape of President George Bush's 23 per cent approval rating, a record low, and the fact that only 13 per cent of Americans believe their country is on the right track.
Mr Obama is unifying his party's traditional base after the divisive primary battle with Mrs Clinton. Women, who were Mrs Clinton's most loyal backers, now favour Mr Obama by a 54 to 29 per cent margin and Democrats give him more than 80 per cent support.
The great majority of Mrs Clinton's voters have transferred their allegiance to Mr Obama, the poll found, with just 11 per cent of her supporters defecting to Mr McCain.
Democrats are much more excited about their candidate, with 81 per cent of Mr Obama's supporters saying they are enthusiastic about him, compared with just 45 per cent of Mr McCain's supporters who say the same about the Republican.
At a fundraiser in Newport Beach, California, this week, Mr McCain said he relished his second-place status. "We are behind, we are the underdog," he said. "That's what I like to be."
Independent candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian candidate Bob Barr win 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively but both candidates take more votes from Mr McCain than from Mr Obama.
Mr Obama, who has opted out of the public financing system for November's election, expects to have a huge financial advantage over Mr McCain, allowing him to compete in states Democrats have long written off.
An analysis in the Chicago Tribuneyesterday suggested that Mr Obama could make major gains in at least nine states the Democratic ticket lost in 2004 if he can achieve a relatively modest increase in turnout among young and African-American voters. The Democratic candidate is planning huge voter-registration campaigns, particularly in southern states with large black populations.