US:BARACK OBAMA has picked up the support of five more superdelegates, almost erasing Hillary Clinton's lead among the party insiders who could determine the Democratic nomination, writes Denis Stauntonin Washington.
The endorsements came as Mrs Clinton continued to campaign in West Virginia and Oregon despite crumbling support, mounting debts and louder calls for her to withdraw from the race.
Mr Obama predicted that the contest could end when Oregon and Kentucky vote on May 20th, when he expects to have won a majority of the pledged delegates awarded in caucuses and primaries. "If at that point we have the majority of pledged delegates, which is possible, then I think we can make a pretty strong claim that we've got the most runs and it's the ninth inning and we've won," he told NBC.
Former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards yesterday declined to endorse either candidate.
However, he said: "It's very difficult to make the math work" for Mrs Clinton's nomination and that Mr Obama is likely to be the Democratic nominee.
Mrs Clinton picked up one superdelegate endorsement yesterday but Pennsylvania congressman Chris Carney was notably tepid in his statement of support.
"We are extremely fortunate to have two very strong candidates vying to lead our nation. Pennsylvania's 10th district overwhelmingly chose Senator Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary and I will respect their decision," he said.
Mrs Clinton has vowed to stay in the race until either she or Mr Obama has won a majority of all delegates but a lack of money could force her to stop campaigning before then.
The former first lady has scheduled a meeting with her finance team at her Washington home next Wednesday as contributions dwindle and campaign debts rise.
Mrs Clinton's statement this week that Mr Obama's support among "working, hard-working Americans, white Americans" was weakening has drawn criticism from some Democrats who fear that the party could be dividing along racial lines.
House majority whip James Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, said the assertion carried no more weight than the fact that Mrs Clinton was unable to receive more than 8 per cent of the black vote in North Carolina.
"I think that we have to be very, very careful with all of this. And I really believe that this is the kind of stuff that I had been talking about with tamping down the enthusiasm of young people, because scores and scores of non-black young people have gotten involved in this campaign this year.
"They are very excited about Barack Obama, for whatever reason," he said.
Veteran civil rights activist Al Sharpton warned that Mrs Clinton risked ruining the Democratic Party by remaining in the race after most Democrats have decided that Mr Obama has won.
"The worst thing in the world is when an entertainer doesn't know when the show is over," he said.
"The audience is gone, the lights are down, you're getting ready to cut the mics off and you are still on the stage singing. It's over, it's all right, it's over. Come sing another day, but this show is over for Senator Clinton."