Obama won’t satisfy pullout pledge: Clinton

Clinton and Obama were campaigning for Pennsylvania’s hard-hit working class voters with promises to reverse the country’s economic slide. With Obama in the lead for the nomination, Clinton relies on a big victory in the state to keep her candidacy alive. There are 158 delegates at stake in the April 22 vote.

Clinton needs a large margin to bolster her hopes of persuading the party’s “superdelegates” to give her the nomination despite Obama’s lead in pledged delegates, which are won through primaries and caucuses. Superdelegates are Democratic officials and top office holders chosen by the party and free to vote for any candidate they wish.

Obama has closed in on Clinton’s lead in recent polls in the state, capitalizing on strong support in Philadelphia and environs. He now trails her by just 6 percentage points, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. A Time poll released Wednesday found him trailing by 8 percentage points.

On the Republican side, McCain was giving a peek at a broader economic plan meant to shield him from criticism of his economic positions. The economy has supplanted Iraq as the main campaign issue, as voters worry about recession, and the country grapples with a mortgage crisis.

McCain was calling for federal aid for well-meaning homeowners with what he called “burdensome mortgages.”

“There is nothing more important than keeping alive the American dream to own your home,” the likely presidential nominee said in remarks prepared for a round-table discussion Thursday in Brooklyn, New York.

“And priority No. 1 is to keep well-meaning, deserving home owners who are facing foreclosure in their homes,” the Arizona senator said.

McCain on Thursday was proposing a plan to offer deserving people the chance to trade a mortgage for a manageable loan reflecting the market value of their home.

He plans to make a broader speech on the economy next week. He is an opponent of aggressive intervention by the government to solve the mortgage crisis and the market upheaval it spawned, saying he prefers only limited intervention and letting market forces play out. The stance has drawn scorn from his Democratic opponents, who say he has a “hands off” approach.

In some good news for Clinton, Elton John played a benefit concert for the former first lady on Wednesday at Radio City Music Hall, helping fill her campaign coffers with US$2.5 million (euro1.59 million).

“I’ve always been a Hillary supporter,” John, 61, said before launching into his 1970 breakthrough hits, “Your Song” and “Border Song.” “There is no one more qualified to lead America.”

Obama’s campaign later issued a statement in which he for the first time urged Bush to boycott the ceremonies.

“If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the president should boycott the opening ceremonies,” Obama said.

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