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HAGATNA, Guam : The tiny US Pacific island of Guam relished a rare moment in the spotlight Saturday, weighing in on the raging Democratic White House battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
There was heavy turnout in the contest for the four electoral votes up for grabs in the Guam nominating caucuses, with Obama reported to be slightly ahead in early results, more than 8,000 miles (12,900 kilometres) from Washington.
With ballots counted in 11 of 21 villages as of 2:00 am (1600 GMT Saturday), Obama was leading Clinton by 758 votes to 680, party officials told AFP. Votes had yet to be counted in the island's main villages of Dededo and Yigo.
Officials estimated that about 8,000 voters had turned out on Saturday -- double the number expected, and up from 1,500 in 2004. It highlights the global interest in the rivalry between the pair, neither of whom made it to Guam.
Clinton and Obama meanwhile barnstormed towards more crucial contests on Tuesday in Indiana and North Carolina, which will play a vital role in defining the end-game of the gruelling fight for the Democratic nomination.
Front-runner Obama, hoping to become the first black US president, made another attempt to connect with working-class voters who have mainly backed Clinton and frustrated his attempts to knock her out of the race.
He was due to lay out his plans to help blue-collar workers as fears of recession stalk the US economy and rising gasoline and food prices cut into family budgets in a speech in midwestern Indiana.
But Clinton styled herself as the best person to make "those changes real in our daily lives," as she campaigned in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
"I know the difference between making speeches and implementing solutions," the New York senator said, seeking to slam Obama as inexperienced.
"Those prices that are going up, gas prices and grocery prices, are really taking a big chunk out of people's disposable income," Clinton said, and rapped Obama for opposing her plan for short-term cuts in the federal gasoline tax.
Polls favor Obama in North Carolina, though the race has tightened in recent days, after he suffered a miserable April. The race was too close to call in Indiana.
The rivals are in the last stretch of a 16-month battle for the right to take on Republican presumptive nominee John McCain in November's election.
Despite the fierce battle between them, which looks set to continue through the final run of nominating contests into June, both Clinton and Obama vowed to heal party divisions whichever one becomes the nominee.
"I will tell you this. If Senator Obama is the nominee, you better believe I'll work my heart out for him," Clinton said at a rowdy Democratic dinner in North Carolina on Friday night.
"If I'm the nominee, I know Senator Obama will do the very same for me, because it will be a united Democratic party that goes on to victory in November."
The Illinois senator returned the compliment.
"If Hillary Clinton were the nominee, I would support her in a heartbeat, and I know that if I am the nominee, that she would support me," Obama said at the same venue.
Clinton is trying to convince "superdelegates" -- nearly 800 top party officials who hold the balance of power -- that neither she nor Obama can reach the 2,025 delegate threshold to win outright, and that she is the best choice.
A tally by independent website RealClearPolitics.com had Obama up by 139 total delegates, 1,738 to 1,599, and fast closing on his rival's current 266-249 lead among superdelegates, with fewer than 300 superdelegates undeclared.
Polls meanwhile showed softening support for Obama.
A Howey-Gauge poll in Indiana had him barely ahead, 47 percent to 45. Clinton trailed by 15 points in the same poll in February.
A Rasmussen poll in North Carolina on Friday had Obama leading by nine points, but with Clinton closing, cutting the gap from 14 points earlier this week.
A Zogby tracking poll on Friday had Obama up 16 points in North Carolina, where he hopes his coalition of African-Americans, affluent white voters and students will carry him to a clear victory.
- AFP /ls
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