Hillary Clinton exited the US presidential race Saturday and threw her support behind presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, who clinched his party's nod for the general election earlier this week, according to DPA. "This isn't exactly the party I planned, but I like the company," she quipped before thousands of supporters gathered for one final rally in Washington. Clinton said she was suspending her campaign for the White House and urged all the "18 million" who voted for her to get behind Obama as he begins the general election battle against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. "I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me," she said, drawing cheers and spattered boos from the crowd after a bitter five-month nomination battle that saw a series of state primaries held across the United States. The former first lady said it was time for the "family" of the Democratic Party to unite behind its common goals and hailed the "milestone" of a woman and African American candidate breaking barriers by having a realistic shot at becoming president of the United States. Obama became the first African American to lead a major US political party into a general election when he clinched the nomination on Tuesday. Clinton would have been the first woman elected president. "The stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been," Clinton said. "That is why I will work my heart out for ensure that Barack Obama is our next president." Obama and Clinton met privately Thursday night to discuss a way forward and secure victory for the Democratic Party in November.
