replate version

Obama's Oregon win moves him to brink of nomination

BY GLENN THRUSH AND CRAIG GORDON | glenn.thrush@newsday.com; craig.gordon@newsday.com

May 21, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Barack Obama moved to the brink of the Democratic nomination last night - winning enough delegates to claim a virtually unassailable lead in the race despite a drubbing by Hillary Rodham Clinton in Kentucky.

Obama countered with a win in Oregon and claimed he had won a majority of pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses as of last night - a milestone that has prompted some in his camp to suggest this historic nomination fight is over.

The Illinois senator himself stopped short of declaring victory last night - but just barely, telling cheering supporters outside the statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa, that they helped put him "within reach of the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America."

"We have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people," Obama said in the state where he claimed his first major victory of the nominating season.

Based on returns last night, Obama has moved to within 100 delegates of the total needed to claim the prize at the party convention this summer. Despite losing Kentucky to Clinton, Obama picked up at least 14 delegates in the state to Clinton's 37 or more. That gave Obama 1,931 out of the 2,026 needed.

Clinton sharply disputed that claim - with a warning from top Clinton backers that any move by Obama to pressure her to quit at this stage could spark a backlash among millions of women supporters.

"This continues to be a tough fight and I have fought it the only way I know how - with determination, by never giving up and never giving in," an emotional Clinton told an energized audience of 500 here. "I'm more determined than ever to see every vote is cast and every ballot is counted."

Clinton defeated the Illinois senator in Kentucky by a commanding 65 percent to 30 percent margin with all precincts reporting - meaning back-to-back blowout losses for Obama following last week's defeat in West Virginia.

In recent days, Obama, who would be the first African-American to be a major party nominee, has appeared anxious to get on with the fight against Republican John McCain - and his campaign believes he now has a rock-solid case to make to undecided superdelegates, to honor the wishes of voters as expressed through the pledged delegates.

But he took care to praise Clinton in his remarks, saying, "No matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and yours will come of age."

In a stark contrast to early contests when her top advisers urged her to downplay her gender, Clinton made a direct appeal last night to women voters to support her historic candidacy, saying she'd campaign "until we have a nominee - whoever she may be!"

Earlier in the day Clinton told The Washington Post that sexism expressed during the campaign was "offensive" to women. "The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable, or at least more accepted, and . . . there should be equal rejection of the sexism and the racism when it raises its ugly head," Clinton said.

"It does seem as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by the comments by people who are nothing but misogynists," she added.

YESTERDAY'S VOTE

Democratic results as of 12:35 a.m.

Barack Obama Hillary Clinton

Kentucky (51 delegates) 30% 65%

Oregon (52 delegates) 58% 42%

DELEGATE SCORECARD

Total delegates at stake: 4,050 Total needed to nominate: 2,026

Won yesterday Superdelegates Total

Barack Obama 23 305 1,949

Hillary Clinton 37 277 1,769