Hillary Rodham Clinton is bowing out of the presidential race, saying Thursday she will rally support for Barack Obama, as the presumptive Democratic nominee begins the delicate search for a running mate amid pressure from his former rival's supporters to choose her. Clinton, armed with a battle-tested campaign team and husband who was a popular two-term president, was initially seen by many as unbeatable. But her hopes of becoming the first woman US president faded as Obama chipped away at her early lead to become the first black nominee to lead a major American party. Their hard-fought battle created rifts within the Democratic Party that Clinton's public show of support would help heal. “I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama,” Clinton told supporters in an e-mail Thursday morning. “The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.” Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson said Clinton will express her support for Obama at an event she is hosting Saturday in Washington, D.C., to thank her supporters. Now that Clinton is stepping aside, her supporters have pushed for the former first lady to be the vice presidential candidate. Obama indicated he would at least consider her. “Senator Clinton would be on anybody's short list, obviously,” he told CBS News, adding they agree on most all the issues. Obama Wednesday chose a three-person team to help him find a running mate, a day after he reached the delegate threshold to clinch the nomination. His campaign said the vetting was to be managed by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of late President John F. Kennedy; former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and Washington insider Jim Johnson. Clinton has told lawmakers privately that she would be interested in the vice presidential nomination. Obama was noncommittal after chatting with her Wednesday morning at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference. – AP On the one hand, by making Clinton his choice for vice president, Obama might tap into her core supporters, who have so far eluded him, including masses of blue-collar voters in swing states, Hispanics and older voters, especially women. However, Obama has painted Clinton as a figure of another time and himself as a clean break from all that's past and passe about Washington. Obama's general-election battle against Republican John McCain, a veteran senator who effectively clinched the Republican nomination in March, is shaping up to be a clash of generations as well as a debate on Iraq. Obama, 46, opposes the war; McCain, 71, is a former Vietnam prisoner of war and staunch supporter of the current US military mission.
