Democrats call truce as McCain visits Iraq
Posted: 17 March 2008 0541 hrs

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WASHINGTON : The warring camps of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton called a truce Sunday as the Democratic White House contenders stared down the long road to hoped-for victory in November's presidential vote.

With Republican nominee-elect John McCain burnishing his national security credentials on a surprise trip to Iraq, Clinton and Obama supporters dialled down their heated rhetoric for fear of handing McCain electoral ammunition.

There was plenty of fodder for Clinton backers after video footage emerged of Obama's fiery Chicago pastor, arguing that the September 11 attacks of 2001 showed that "America's chickens are coming home to roost."

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the country's highest ranking elected Democrat, ruled out a "dream ticket" combining Obama and Clinton and said the party's nominee should be whoever leads in the final delegate count.

That would appear to favor Obama, while the New York Times reported that many Democratic "superdelegates" are loath for party grandees to overturn the will of the majority of primary and caucus voters at the August convention.

In the race for pledged delegates, Obama enjoys a lead of about 170 over Clinton, has won double the number of states and is ahead in the national popular vote.

Speaking on ABC News, Pelosi said "if the votes of the superdelegates overturn what happened in the elections, it would be harmful to the Democratic Party."

"This is going to be over before we go to the convention... pretty soon, somebody will be far enough in front that this will come to an end," she said.

The next battle in the Democrats' nominating epic is Pennsylvania on April 22, but Obama is already campaigning in Indiana, which votes on May 6 along with North Carolina, in a sign that the race has weeks to go yet.

Clinton, dogged by her 2002 vote authorising military force in Iraq, was due to give what her campaign called a "major policy address" on the war on Monday in Washington, as the US-led invasion's fifth anniversary looms Thursday.

While the Democrats have sparred furiously over who would be the better commander-in-chief, McCain and two other pro-war senators arrived in Iraq on the first leg of a tour also taking him to the Middle East and Europe.

In Baghdad, McCain was due to meet US ambassador Ryan Crocker, and to see firsthand the effects of the troop "surge" for which he has been a fervent advocate even as US public support for the war has slumped.

Pelosi said the Arizona senator favoured "a war without end," and stressed that Obama or Clinton would abide by their campaign promises and conduct "a responsible, honourable, safe redeployment of our troops out of Iraq."

Discussing the campaign, the House speaker reiterated she was "absolutely sure" that Obama and Clinton would not run on a joint ticket, arguing that either could be sure of the other's support in the general election.

"I think the tone could be improved," she added after days of combative exchanges between the two campaigns. "We'll come out of that convention unified, and we'll be ready to win in November."

The rhetoric appeared to calm Sunday as Democrats strove for unity ahead of their eventual battle against McCain.

Clinton backers such as New York Senator Charles Schumer refused to be drawn into an uproar surrounding the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who said in the newly disclosed video that the 9/11 attacks were brought on by American "terrorism."

Obama on Friday categorically rejected the "appalling remarks" by Wright, who officiated at the Democrat's wedding and baptised his two daughters, and said the black preacher had resigned from one of his campaign committees.

Echoed by other Clinton surrogates, Schumer told Fox News Sunday that he accepted Obama's denunciation and said it was time to "move on" to pressing issues such as the faltering economy and Iraq.

"I think this election will be much more on the issues," he said.

"The dramatic differences between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and John McCain are not only large, but they're right at the centre of what's worrying people," Schumer said. - AFP/de