Barack Obama took a big step toward the Democratic presidential nomination with an easy victory in North Carolina Tuesday, and Hillary Clinton vowed to keep her struggling campaign alive after narrowly winning Indiana. The results helped Obama widen his lead over Clinton in the grueling Democratic duel for the right to face Republican John McCain in November's presidential election with just six nominating contests remaining. Both candidates looked ahead to contests next week in West Virginia and May 20 in Oregon and Kentucky, but Clinton was nearly out of opportunities to change the course of the race. “We have seen that it's possible to overcome the politics of division and distraction, that it's possible to overcome the same old negative attacks that are always about scoring points and never about solving our problems,” Obama said at a victory rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Illinois senator's 14-point victory in North Carolina was a dramatic comeback from a difficult campaign stretch that began last month with a big loss in Pennsylvania and was prolonged by the controversy over racially charged comments by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama, 46, sounded like he was already focused on the general election showdown with McCain. “This fall, we intend to march forward as one Democratic Party, united by a common vision for this country,” said Obama, who would be the first black US president. The results meant Clinton missed her best chance to narrow Obama's lead in pledged delegates who will help pick the nominee at August's convention. She won Indiana by just 23,000 votes out of more than 1.25 million votes cast in the state, but promised to keep up the fight. “It's full speed on to the White House,” Clinton said at a victory rally in Indianapolis, with her husband former President Bill Clinton standing behind her. “We've got a long road ahead, but we're going to keep fighting.”
