MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fresh calls for Hillary to drop out of Democratic party nomination

Hillary Clinton in campaign

A staunch supporter of US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, South Dakota Senator George McGovern called on the New York Senator to drop out of the race and let Senator Barack Obama secure the Democratic Party nomination.

McGovern told the Washington Post on Wednesday that after watching Hillary's Tuesday narrow win in Indiana and huge loss in North Carolina he found it virtually impossible for Mrs. Clinton to win the nomination. He said that despite remaining close friends with the Clintons, he had called the former First Lady to tell her of his decision to change his endorsement. "I will hold them in affection and admiration all of my days," he said of the Clintons. He added he had no regrets endorsing Clinton but "by any practical test, Obama has won the nomination". Obama is very close to a majority of the pledged delegates added McGovern. Obama moved within 200 delegates of clinching the nomination with his split decision on Tuesday of a win in North Carolina and a narrow loss in Indiana. "It's time to unite the Democratic Party", insisted Mc Govern who is 85 and who in 1972 lost the presidency to Republican Richard Nixon. "Hillary, of course, will make the decision as to if and when she ends her campaign. But I hope that she reaches that decision soon so that we can concentrate on a unified party capable of winning the White House next November," "She has run a valiant campaign. And she will remain an influential voice in the American future," he said. However Hillary Clinton in West Virginia said she will remain in the presidential race "until there's a nominee". She also disclosed that she had loaned her campaign an additional 6.4 million US dollars in recent weeks, additional evidence that her once front-runner campaign was in deep trouble. She told reporters the loans were a sign of her commitment to her quest for the White House. She earlier loaned herself 5 million 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 any moment. Both disclosures were meant to signal fresh confidence that the nomination was quickly coming into his possession after a grueling marathon across 15 months and nearly all 50 states.