Obama, Clinton campaign in western states holding last primary contests

With no end in sight to the hard-fought Democratic presidential battle, both Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton were already launching their campaigns Saturday in western states that will be among the last to hold primary contests.

Obama and Clinton were scrapping for every last nominating convention delegate in a contest that is now expected to continue through the last scheduled primary contests on June 3 in South Dakota and Montana.

At the start of the primary season, Montana Democrats had little reason to expect that the presidential candidates would be paying much attention to their state's primary in which only 17 delegates are at stake.

But on Saturday evening, both Clinton and Obama were scheduled to speak at the state party's annual dinner in Butte, which was expected to draw about 4,000 Democratic activists.

Obama said he understood that Democrats are becoming a little restless with the protracted race between himself and Clinton, but he expected the party will come together behind its eventual nominee before its national convention in Denver.

"We are going to be unified by the time we get to Denver in August," Obama told a packed rally that drew 8,000 people Saturday on a cold, snowy day to the University of Montana's sports arena in Missoula.

Obama stressed environmental issues in his speech, acknowledging his suport of clean-energy technology might worry voters in a region that produces a lot of coal.

"I know Montana's a coal state. My home state, Illinois, is a coal state, but we've got to make sure that we are investing in technologies that capture carbon because we can't sustain the planet the way that we're doing it right now," Obama said. "Look at this incredible landscape around you. We've got to pass that on."

Accusing President George W. Bush of weakening civil rights, Obama appealed to the independent pioneer tradition of his audience. "If you live out here in Big Sky Country, I know you believe in civil liberties," he said.

Clinton began the day by making her first presidential campaign visit to Oregon, which holds its primary on May 20. Several thousand people packed a gymnasium and an overflow room at a high school in Hillsboro to hear Clinton.

Clinton also focused on the environment, saying the northwestern state was a role model for several of her priorities such as promoting wind power. She promised investments in "green manufacturing," which would be partially paid for by removing tax subsidies for big oil companies.

While the Democrats battled on, Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain was trying to broaden his appeal beyond the voters who cast ballots in last winter's Republican primaries, calling for a presidential campaign that is more like a respectful argument among friends than a bitter clash of enemies.

"We have nothing to fear from each other," the Arizona senator said as he wrapped up a weeklong biographical tour. "We are arguing over the means to better secure our freedom, promote the general welfare and defend our ideals."

After a series of stops earlier in the week that emphasized his military service, McCain spoke on the steps of the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, Arizona, his home state where he launched his political career by winning election to Congress in 1982.

McCain said that if elected, he would attempt to govern in a bipartisan spirit, and sharpened that theme in a news conference shortly after his speech.

"I have a record unmatched by either Senator Hillary (Rodham) Clinton or Senator (Barack) Obama of reaching across the aisle," he said. He said his record demonstrates "the environment for working together is clearly there."

A Gallup poll showed Obama with a a slight lead nationally over Clinton in the Democratic presidential race, at 49 percent to 44 percent. The survey conducted April 1-3 had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Obama leads in the delegate count, 1,635-1,501, according to The Associated Press. Because of the way Democrats apportion delegates, Clinton is not likely to catch Obama even if she has a strong showing in the remaining 10 contests, including the 158 at stake in the next contest in Pennsylvania on April 22.

That leaves the race largely in the hands of the 800 so-called superdelegates _ party leaders, lawmakers and officials who are not bound by state results when casting their vote.

Clinton's chances of catching Obama were further dimmed Friday when Michigan Democrats announced there would be no do-over of that state's Jan. 15 primary. Democrats in Florida had already announced there would be no revote there.

Both the Michigan and Florida primaries were essentially nullified after they were moved into January in violation of national Democratic party rules. The party voted to strip both states of their delegates and all the candidates, including Clinton and Obama, signed a pledge not to campaign in either state.

On Saturday, Clinton strengthened her pitch to allow the disputed primary results to be counted in the nominating contest, noting the vote totals had been officially recognized in each state.

"Some say their votes should be ignored and the popular vote in Michigan and Florida should be discounted. Well, I have a different view," Clinton said at a rally in Hillsboro, Oregon. "The popular vote in Florida and Michigan has already been counted. It was determined by election results, it was certified by election officials in each state, it's been officially tallied by the secretary of state in each state, and the question is whether those 2.3 million Democrats will be honored and their delegates seated by the Democratic party."

Both states saw record turnout in their primaries and the former first lady won both contests. Her campaign has pressed hard for the results to be recognized, even as the Obama campaign has argued Clinton is trying to circumvent rules she agreed to long ago.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has been conferring with party leaders in both states, hoping to find a way to seat their delegations. The Obama campaign has proposed a 50-50 split of both states' delegations, an option Clinton advisers have resisted.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton dismissed Clinton's latest call to recognize the Florida and Michigan's results.

"Senator Clinton herself said these contests 'didn't count for anything.' But now that it serves her own political self-interest, she's trying to change the rules and count the results of contests where she and every other candidate pledged not to campaign," Burton said. "In Michigan, Senator Obama wasn't even on the ballot. Our focus should now be on seating the Michigan and Florida delegations in a fair manner."