Obama eyes general election while Clinton hangs on
Updated: 2008-05-19 09:16
PORTLAND - Democrat Barack Obama turned his attention to a general election campaign against Republican John McCain on Sunday, slamming him for having lobbyists as top advisors.
 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) addresses supporters at a campaign rally in Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, Oregon May 18, 2008. [Agencies]
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Obama has still not formally won the Democratic presidential nomination. His opponent, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, kept working to overtake him, urging supporters in Kentucky, which holds its primary contest on Tuesday, to show up at the polls.
Obama, an Illinois senator, drew his biggest crowd to date in Portland, estimated by a fire and rescue official at 75,000 people. Oregon also votes on Tuesday.
"Over the last several weeks John McCain keeps on having problems with his top advisors being lobbyists, in some cases for foreign governments or other big interests that are doing business in Washington," Obama said.
Former Texas Rep. Thomas Loeffler, McCain's national finance co-chairman, resigned his post because of lobbying ties, a McCain campaign official confirmed. He was the fifth person to leave over concern about lobbying ties.
The Illinois senator praised Clinton, but spoke of her in the past tense in another sign that he has shifted focus past the primary season.
"She has been a formidable candidate. She has been smart and tough and determined and she has worked as hard as she can," Obama told the crowd, speaking about the former first lady. "She has run an extraordinary campaign."
The New York senator started her day by attending church and then headed off to "Get Out the Vote" rallies.
"It's not enough to show up and cheer," she told a rally at Western Kentucky University. "You've got to get out and vote. You've got to bring everybody you can find to vote."
Obama holds a commanding lead in the pledged delegates to this summer's party convention that will pick a candidate to run against McCain, an Arizona senator. While Clinton was expected to win handily in Kentucky, Obama was ahead in the polls in Oregon, leaving only three more primaries before the party voting ends on June 3.
Obama planned to be in Iowa on Tuesday to celebrate in the state where he scored his first victory in January.
"We thought it was a terrific way to kind of bring things full circle. We still have some contests left, but if Kentucky and Oregon go as we hope, then we think we will have a majority of pledged delegates at that point, and that's a pretty significant mark," he told reporters.
All polls are closed in Kentucky at 7 p.m. EDT and Oregon at 8 p.m. PDT/11 p.m. EDT. Results are expected shortly after.
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