Clinton says she will stay the course for presidential nomination

Washington, May 8 : Former U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton says she will remain in the presidential race "until there's a nominee."

She, however, declined to say whether that meant that she would wait till the roll call of the states at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

Clinton also disclosed that she had loaned her campaign an additional 6.4 million dollars in recent weeks, additional evidence that her once front-runner campaign was in deep financial trouble.

The New York Post quoted her as saying that the loans were a sign of her commitment to her quest for the White House.

She had earlier loaned herself five million dollars as she struggled to keep up with a better-financed Obama campaign.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama pocketed the support of at least four Democratic convention super delegates on Wednesday, building on the momentum from a convincing North Carolina primary victory.

Obama, now the front-runner, was home in Chicago during the day as his aides spread word that he would soon begin campaigning in states likely to be pivotal in the fall campaign. They also relayed word of the four endorsements, expected to be made public later in the day.

Both disclosures were meant to signal fresh confidence that the nomination was quickly coming into his possession after a gruelling marathon across 15 months and nearly all 50 states.

Clinton's appearance in Shepherdstown, West Virginia was meant to underscore her determination to stay the course. She also arranged a private meeting later in the day with uncommitted super delegates.

Clinton won the Indiana primary narrowly early Wednesday, but the overall impact of the night's two contests was to lengthen Obama's lead in national convention delegates without fundamentally altering the nature of the race.

Obama has 1,840.5 delegates to 1,688 for Clinton in The Associated Press tally. It takes 2,025 delegates to win the nomination in Denver this summer.

Clinton told reporters it would take 2,209 or 2,210 delegates to win the nomination, not the 2,025 in use by the Democratic National Committee.

The higher total would come into play if the delegations were seated from Michigan and Florida, two states that held primaries outside the time frame that party rules required.

Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said on Tuesday night it was possible a compromise could be worked out to seat the Michigan delegates. He did not mention Florida.

While Clinton showed no sign of surrender, former Senator George McGovern, the party's 1972 presidential candidate, urged her to reconsider.

Obama is expected to compete for the six remaining Democratic contests but to also turn attention to general election states, aides said.

The Illinois senator was enjoying a rare down day in his hometown before returning to Washington, D.C., late Wednesday

He was expected to travel later in the week to Oregon, where he appears to hold the advantage, and then head to the Appalachian coal-states of West Virginia and Kentucky, where Clinton seems to have the edge.

ANI