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U.S. democratic presidential candidates Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama shaking hands after a debate in the run-up to the Ohio primary last week. (Reuters) Last update - 20:42 05/03/2008 Clinton hints she is willing to share ticket with Obama By The Associated Press Tags: U.S presidential race  WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton - savoring big campaign saving primary wins - hinted Wednesday she would accept Barack Obama as her Democratic vice presidential running mate, but braced for stiffer challenges from a rival still leading in the all-important delegate count. On a night that failed to clarify the Democratic race, John McCain Tuesday clinched the Republican nomination. Obama won the first of Tuesday night's contests in Vermont to extend to 12 his winning streak before Clinton ended that run with victories in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. Both Democrats insisted on Wednesday they had the best credentials to go head to head - or as Clinton put it toe to toe - against McCain. Advertisement Asked on CBS's The Early Show whether she and Obama should be on the same ticket, Clinton said "that may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me." Obama, who had hoped to knock Clinton out on Tuesday, said he would prevail against a tenacious candidate who just keeps on ticking. Clinton acknowledged the race was close and said it would come down to her credentials on national security and the economy. The two Democrats, in television interviews Wednesday, declared that only one thing was certain - that the campaign would go on and the next big showdown would occur on April 22 in Pennsylvania. McCain, whose grasp on the nomination once seemed a distant reach, went to the White House on Wednesday to have lunch with President George W. Bush, where he received his endorsement. Bitter rivals in the 2000 presidential primaries, the two have forged an uneasy relationship during Bush's administration and have clashed on issues such as campaign finance, tax cuts, global warming and defining torture. Clinton's victories Tuesday night denied Obama a ripe opportunity to drive her from the Democratic presidential race. But Obama came away with a large share of delegates, too, in counting that continued Wednesday, meaning he retains a lead that is tough to overcome. "We still have an insurmountable lead," Obama said. "We're very confident about where we're going to be and that we can win the nomination and the general election." Clinton and Obama spent most of the past two weeks in Ohio and Texas in a bruising campaign, with the former first lady questioning her rival's sincerity in opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement, and darkly hinting he is not ready to be commander in chief in a crisis. Obama also confronted questions about one of his longtime political benefactors, businessman Antoin Tony Rezko, who went on trial Monday in Chicago on several felony fraud charges. Based on their current delegate counts, neither candidate can win enough delegates in the remaining primaries and caucuses to secure the nomination without the help of nearly 800 party officials and top elected officials who also have a voice in the selection. Clinton and her campaign clearly aimed their case on Wednesday at those so-called superdelegates - a strategy that could take the nomination fight all the way to the party's August national convention. She also renewed calls for Florida and Michigan - two states in which she won the popular vote - to be counted in the nomination race. The states were penalized by the Democratic Party for moving up their primaries ahead of a schedule set by the Democratic National Committee. Clinton said voters are being drawn to her argument that she would be the better commander in chief, the best steward of the economy and that she can better confront McCain in the general election. Obama countered Wednesday, saying Clinton got it wrong by supporting Bush's call for use of force in Iraq and said he would begin to challenge Clinton on her foreign policy credentials. That issue is likely to factor significantly in the November elections. "I ultimately think the American people are going to want a clear break from the Bush-Cheney foreign policies of the past because they haven't made us more safe and more secure," he said. "If she thinks that longevity in Washington is the primary criteria for winning the White House, then John McCain is going to beat her." Clinton won about 54 percent of the Ohio vote in nearly complete returns. She was winning just over half in the Texas primary. It was questionable whether she would narrow her delegate deficit by much once the final results were in and the complexities of allotting the 370 delegates at stake in the four states were ironed out. In the four-state competition for delegates, Clinton picked up at least 115, to at least 88 for Obama. Nearly 170 more remained to be allocated for the night, 154 of them in the Texas primary and the caucuses that immediately followed. Obama had a lead in Texas caucuses before counting closed for the night Tuesday, to be resumed Wednesday. Obama had a total of 1,477 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates, according to the Associated Press count. He picked up three superdelegate endorsements Tuesday. Clinton had 1,391 delegates. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination. Wyoming offers 12 delegates in caucuses Saturday; Mississippi has 33 at stake next week. The biggest remaining prize is Pennsylvania, with 158 delegates. Polling place interviews with voters in both states suggested Clinton's criticism of Obama hit home, and she was winning the votes of late deciders in Ohio and Texas, as well as Vermont. Hispanics, a group that has favored Clinton in earlier primaries, cast nearly one-third of the Election Day votes in Texas, up from about one-quarter of the ballots four years ago, according to interviews with voters as they left their polling places. Blacks, who have voted heavily for Obama this year, accounted for roughly 20 percent of the votes cast, roughly the same as four years ago. In the Republican race, McCain, the 71-year-old veteran Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war, surpassed the 1,191 delegates needed to win his party's nomination. He sealed a nomination race against odds that seemed steep only a few months ago, and all but impossible last summer. His string of wins prompted his last main rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, to drop out. On Tuesday night, McCain delivered a speech on the state of the union as he wants to make it: secure from Islamic extremism, victorious in Iraq, confident in trade, sound in its economy. Related articles: Jewish functionaries stirring the Clinton-Obama race Mock debate deceives Cleveland Jewish voters Was Obama naive, will Clinton be Bush-Cheney lite? Bookmark to del.icio.us   Halimi, relived A Jewish teen is tortured where Ilan Halimi died in similar circumstances. Bus-bomb capital Four buses designed to thwart suicide bombings are tested in J'lem.   1.   What`s mine is mine, and what`s yours is ours... 20:17  |  Azohun Vei 05/03/08   2.   Shared ticket 20:47  |  Jackie 05/03/08   3.   Obama is still in first place,and she would be an 80lb. gorilla 20:48  |  lakshmi 05/03/08   4.   clinton takes thee, Obama, as her 21:18  |  lb 05/03/08   5.   all time low 22:06  |  hollingsworth 05/03/08   6.   How cheap 22:39  |  Angel 05/03/08   7.   #3 - so who was he and why didn`t people vote f or him ? 22:42  |  redmike 05/03/08   8.   McCain advertising on Haaretz, WHY? 22:55  |  jc 05/03/08   9.   Clinton Won`t win W.H. 23:36  |  Mary 05/03/08   10.   Woman Power! 23:39  |  Paul 05/03/08   11.   shared ticket 01:13  |  Shmuelshachor 06/03/08   12.   Not too fast on this 01:34  |  Brod 06/03/08   13.   Clinton is dreaming -Obama has destroyed her 03:01  |  Sal 06/03/08   14.   Brod speaking for Americans 04:43  |  hollingsworth 06/03/08   15.   Clinton & Obama 17:29  |  Akilu Ramalan Mansur 06/03/08   16.   any 20:12  |  mack 06/03/08   17.   school 20:14  |  mack 06/03/08

Today Online Olmert: Talks with Syria worth serious consideration Responses: 87 Settlers agree to leave several illegal West Bank outposts Responses: 88 Gaza humanitarian situation said at worst point since 1967 Responses: 149 Soldier killed in strike on IDF jeep near Gaza border Responses: 91 Hamas: Cease-fire deal with Israel must include West Bank Responses: 44 Rosner's Domain What does the American voter want? Dennis Ross: I am not an Obama advisor (WTR) Americans have a favorable view of Israel. Democrats, less so Poll: Should Abbas and Olmert continue their talks? Rosner's Mailbox: McCain is a trimmer Sharon More Headlines 20:15 Four wounded as Qassam rocket hits Sderot home 19:35 Soldier killed, three others hurt in attack on IDF jeep near Gaza border 18:20 Hamas: Cease-fire deal must include West Bank 19:54 Damascus, Tehran sign eight memorandums of understanding 18:08 Those who left Hillary for dead, get ready for a long fight 11:59 Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran? 20:21 Swastika daubed on grave of 18th-century rabbi in Poland 18:27 U.K. Jewish school sued for barring pupil over conversion 14:41 Olmert: Talks with Syria worth serious consideration 18:41 Muslim states call on UN rights body to condemn IDF's Gaza incursion 12:33 Barak refuses to exempt 1,000 Haredi men from army service 14:28 Three held in Manila over plot to bomb U.S., Israeli embassies Previous Editions Select Day 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar 02 mar 29 feb 28 feb 27 feb 26 feb 25 feb 24 feb 22 feb 21 feb

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