Hillary ... endorses Barack Obama
HILLARY Clinton endorsed Barack Obama to be the Democratic US presidential candidate today.
She suspended her own White House bid less than a week after the Illinois senator secured enough support to win the nomination.
Senator Clinton’s endorsement of Obama in a speech at the National Building Museum in Washington, marked the beginning of efforts to reunite the Democratic Party.
Battle
Her long campaign battle for US presidency ended on Tuesday when Obama won the support of enough delegates to clinch the nomination.
Supporters ... listen to Hillary Clinton's speech
"Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him,", Clinton told about 2,000 cheering supporters.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and her daughter, Chelsea, stood to the side of the stage.
"I endorse him and I throw my full support behind him," she said of Obama.
Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady who was once considered a favourite to become the first female US president had resisted calls to pull out of the race for months as Obama built an unassailable lead.
Sad ... Hillary Clinton bows out of US presidency
She added: "The way to continue our fight now to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United States."
Obama will be crowned the Democratic nominee at the party’s August nominating convention and will face Republican Senator John McCain in November’s election to choose a successor to President George W. Bush.
The Illinois senator will be the first black presidential nominee of a major US political party.
Obama did not appear at the rally, giving Clinton the spotlight for the day.
Clinton won more than 17 million votes during the Democratic nominating battle, and Obama has tried to build bridges to her camp ahead of the November campaign.
The possibility she will be Obama’s running mate has sparked endless speculation in political circles.
She says she is open to the idea, a prospect that excites many supporters, but is viewed with scepticism in Obama’s camp.
Some of her supporters have tried to pressure Obama into picking her, but her campaign issued a statement on Thursday saying she is not seeking the vice presidential slot.
Obama has named a three-member team to head his vice presidential search and has sworn off further discussion of the choice.
Clinton entered the race in January 2007 as the clear front-runner and was viewed as the almost certain winner for most of the year, but stumbled to a third-place finish behind Obama in the first contest in January in Iowa.
She bounced back five days later to win in New Hampshire, but never recovered from Obama’s string of 10 consecutive victories in February.
