Former first lady Clinton tells Democrats to unite

DENVER, Colorado - Hillary Clinton Tuesday ordered her grieving supporters to unite behind Democratic nominee Barack Obama, in an emotional final act to a White House quest which fell just short of history.

"Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose," said Clinton, who got a euphoric welcome for her prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention.

"We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines," she said, vowing to work to elect the man who thwarted her presidential dreams, and who will make his own history by becoming the first black presidential nominee.

The former first lady milked a deafening ovation as the crowd, blanketed with signs bearing a stylised version of her "Hillary" signature, feted her almost as though she had won the exhausting primary fight.

She told the thousands in the arena, and millions of her army of women, and blue-collar voters watching on television, that despite their fierce primary duel, "Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president."

Wistfully, Clinton looked back on the thousands of miles, and thousands of speeches and meetings that made up her presidential campaign, which finally ended when Obama clinched the nomination in June.

"You taught me so much, you made me laugh and... you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives, and you became part of mine."

Senator Obama watched Clinton's speech from Montana, and hailed her oration as an "outstanding" appeal for Democratic unity.

"That was excellent, that was a strong speech. She made the case for why we're going to be unified in November and why we're going to win this election."

Clinton also lashed Republican White House hopeful John McCain as a "twin" of unpopular President George W. Bush, saying he stood for "more war, less diplomacy" "more economic stagnation, less healthcare."

The former first lady, introduced by daughter Chelsea, said she had not spent the past "35 years in the trenches" to suffer more "failed leadership" from Republicans.

"No way, no how, no McCain," she said.
The New York senator however, did not say that Obama was ready to serve as commander-in-chief and sought a political rather than personal connection with the new party champion.

She also traced her place in history, noting her mother was born before women could vote, yet saw her granddaughter vote for a woman as president.

"This is the story of America, of women and men who defy the odds and never give up."

Clinton's speech was closely scrutinised for her willingness to heal the wounds of a primary campaign which split the Democratic Party in two, and offered hopes to Republicans in a tough year for the demoralised party.

But she gave her blessing to Obama in the first lines of her speech, providing valuable television pictures of an arena of cheering Democrats united, after a compelling nominating battle.

The speech was the first of a one-two punch from the Clintons - former president Bill Clinton will address the convention on Wednesday - after fighting a barely disguised feud with the Obama campaign.

Hillary Clinton's 18 million primary voters are vital to Obama, as his White House race with McCain has tightened to a dead heat, and the rivals are slugging out a desperate battle for swing states like Ohio.

So the New York senator, watched from the crowd by her husband launched into a forensic critic of the candidacy of her "friend" McCain.

"He has served our country with honour and courage," Clinton said of the former Vietnam war prisoner.

"But we don't need four more years ... of the last eight years," she said, and tried to saddle the Republican candidate with the unpopular legacy of President George W. Bush ahead of the rival party's convention in Minneapolis.

"It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days, they are awfully hard to tell apart."

The McCain campaign hit back immediately.

"Senator Clinton ran her presidential campaign making clear that Barack Obama is not prepared to lead as commander in chief," spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

"Nowhere tonight, did she alter that assessment, nowhere did she say that Barack Obama is ready to lead.

"Millions of Hillary Clinton supporters and millions of Americans remain concerned about whether Barack Obama is ready to be president."

More than 1,000 Clinton supporters marched through Denver to vent their anger at the former first lady's treatment prior to the Convention.