THE man who served as national manager of former President Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday.

US Democratic presidential contenders sought to underscore their differences with Republicans on gay and lesbian rights, but leading candidates also faced sharp questions on their reluctance to embrace marriage for same-sex couples.

Democratic presidential candidates have clashed on Iraq and over the security of the US since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said that US combat forces should be out of Iraq by spring 2008 to end “a foreign policy disaster”.

Mark Warner’s decision to bow out of the early US presidential race leaves a field still crowded with Democrats competing to be the most attractive alternative to front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.