Clinton 'set to announce withdrawal'
6/3/2008 - 3:58:51 PMHillary Clinton will tonight concede defeat to Barack Obama in the battle to become the Democratic presidential candidate, her campaign officials said.
The move effectively ends her bid to be the nation’s first female president.
The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City. She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. Her campaign chairman has also denied that she plans to announce an official withdrawal.
However, for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.
Most campaign staff will be let go and will be paid up to June 15, said the officials who asked not to be named.
The Clinton advisers said she had made a strategic decision to not formally end her campaign, giving her leverage to negotiate with Mr Obama on various matters including a possible vice presidential nomination for her.
She also wants to press him on issues he should focus on in the autumn, such as health care.
Universal health care, Mrs Clinton’s signature issue as first lady in the 1990s, was a point of dispute between her and Mr Obama during their nomination fight.