Hillary Clinton has formally ended her historic pr

[Flash]

Hillary Clinton has formally ended her historic presidential campaign and urged her supporters to unite behind Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

It was only a few days ago that Senator Clinton was still insisting she was the best candidate, but now she's given former rival Senator Obama her full backing.

"I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run, I endorse him and throw my full support behind him," she said.

"The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand, is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States."

Before a crowd of thousands of people in Washington, she implored her supporters to do the same, but some booed at each mention of Senator Obama's name.

Senator Clinton said that because of the campaigns that she and Senator Obama had run, it was no longer remarkable for a woman or a black person to run for president.

In a statement, Senator Obama says he is thrilled and honoured to have Senator Clinton's support.

[Flash]

Jun 7, 2008 15:38:17 GMT -5 Flash said:

Hillary Clinton has formally ended her historic presidential campaign and urged her supporters to unite behind Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

It was only a few days ago that Senator Clinton was still insisting she was the best candidate, but now she's given former rival Senator Obama her full backing.

"I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run, I endorse him and throw my full support behind him," she said.

"The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand, is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States."

Before a crowd of thousands of people in Washington, she implored her supporters to do the same, but some booed at each mention of Senator Obama's name.

Senator Clinton said that because of the campaigns that she and Senator Obama had run, it was no longer remarkable for a woman or a black person to run for president.

In a statement, Senator Obama says he is thrilled and honoured to have Senator Clinton's support.

Just over an hour after Sen. Hillary Clinton completed her speech endorsing Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee issued the following statement:

"Obviously, I am thrilled and honored to have Senator Clinton's support. But more than that, I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run. She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere, who now know that there are no limits to their dreams. And she inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans. Our party and our country are stronger because of the work she has done throughout her life, and I'm a better candidate for having had the privilege of competing with her in this campaign. No one knows better than Senator Clinton how desperately America and the American people need change, and I know she will continue to be in the forefront of that battle this fall and for years to come."

Obama watched Clinton's speech over the Internet on a computer, a campaign aide said. He put in a call to Clinton afterward, but was told by a Clinton assistant that she was speaking with supporters.

In the final minutes of the speech, a top Obama strategist was pleased with the message, saying there was “no ambiguity” about her support for the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The strategist characterized the speech as “very generous” and said that he “appreciates it’s hard.”