Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2008

WASHINGTON | Sen. Barack Obama got a front-runner’s welcome at the Capitol on Thursday, pressing congressional superdelegates to support him in a visit that had the feel of a campaign victory lap.

On the House floor, he was surrounded by well-wishers calling him “Mr. President” and reaching out to pat him on the back or shake his hand. The glad-handers included a few Republicans and supporters of his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

He picked up the superdelegate support of at least two lawmakers: Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina, where Obama handily won the primary Tuesday, and Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington state.

Obama predicted he would lose the next two contests to Clinton — West Virginia and Kentucky — but said he expected to win other states.

“Our goal is going to be to try to bring the party together as soon as possible,” Obama said as he walked through the Capitol. “But we still have contests remaining, and so in no way am I taking this for granted. We’re going to have to keep on working.”

About a third of the undeclared superdelegates are members of Congress, which is why Obama spent the day away from the campaign trail on Capitol Hill.

Clinton on Thursday urged her supporters to ignore the political pundits who have declared her toast.

She raced into a long campaign day, West Virginia to the West Coast, declaring she would move forward with her presidential effort and insisting anew that she, not Obama, would be the stronger Democratic candidate to face Republican John McCain in November.

At a rally under the dome of the West Virginia Capitol, Clinton dismissed calls for her to drop out as “deja vu all over again.”

She made her case for pressing on, even as she thanked her supporters for doing the same.

“A lot of you have stuck with me; you’ve been through all the ups and downs in this campaign, the biggest victories and toughest moments,” Clinton said. “I think it is because you understand that you’ve got to have a president who gets up every day and fights for you, who never gives up on you.”

Her fading chances did not diminish the loyalty of Evelyn Smith, 78, one of hundreds of supporters who jammed into the Capitol in Charleston to hear Clinton speak.

“It’s going to take a miracle for her to get the nomination, which I could sit down and cry about because I think she really deserves to be president and the first lady president,” Smith said.

Said Clinton as her audience cheered: “I think we ought to keep this going so the people of West Virginia’s voices are heard.”

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