Obama is my candidate

DENVER, Colorado, (Agencies) - Hillary Clinton has delivered a full-throated appeal for her supporters to unite behind Barack Obama, using her prime time speech at the Democratic convention to declare: "Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President."

Her arrival on the stage in Denver capped another day of speculation and intrigue about lingering resentment from the Clintons over their 16-year domination of the party coming to an end, as well as the palpable anger felt by many of her supporters after the titanic battle with Obama for their party's nomination.

After being introduced by her daughter, Chelsea, and greeted with a long ovation from most delegates - although some chose to remain seated or refuse to applaud - Hillary's eyes briefly filled with tears. But her speech was pitch-perfect from the beginning.

"Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose," said Hillary, who got a euphoric welcome for her primetime speech Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, in an emotional final act to her White House quest which fell just short of history.

"We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines," she said, vowing to work to elect the man who thwarted her presidential dreams, and who will make his own history by becoming the first black presidential nominee.

The former first lady milked a deafening ovation as the crowd, blanketed with signs bearing a stylised version of her "Hillary" signature, feted her almost as though she had won the exhausting primary fight.

She told the thousands in the arena, and millions of her army of women and blue-collar voters watching on television, that despite their fierce primary duel, "Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president."

Wistfully, Hillary Clinton looked back on the thousands of miles, and thousands of speeches and meetings that made up her presidential campaign, which finally ended when Obama clinched the nomination in June.

"You taught me so much, you made me laugh and ... you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives, and you became part of mine."

Senator Obama watched Hillary's speech from Montana, and hailed her oration as an "outstanding" appeal for Democratic unity.

"That was excellent, that was a strong speech. She made the case for why we're going to be unified in November and why we're going to win this election."

Hillary also lashed Republican White House hopeful John McCain as a "twin" of unpopular President George W Bush, saying he stood for "more war, less diplomacy," and "more economic stagnation, less health care."

The former first lady, introduced by daughter Chelsea, said she had not spent the past "35 years in the trenches" to suffer more "failed leadership" from Republicans.

"No way, no how, no McCain," she said.

The New York senator, however, did not say that Obama was ready to serve as commander-in-chief and sought a political rather than personal connection with the new party champion.

The McCain campaign seized on the omission.

"Senator Hillary ran her presidential campaign making clear that Barack Obama is not prepared to lead as commander in chief," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said.