Top Democrats want quick end to nomination battle

WASHINGTON - US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that he, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and party chairman Howard Dean will urge uncommitted delegates to choose between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when primaries are over next week and bring the presidential nomination process to a quick end.

"By this time next week, it will all be over give or take a day," Reid said of the marathon race between the front-running Barack Obama, a African-American, and Mrs. Clinton, the former First Lady.

Obama is within 44 delegates of clinching the nomination, according to The Associated Press tally, and leads Clinton by roughly 200 delegates.

Democratic officials said Ms. Pelosi already has begun contacting uncommitted House members urging them to weigh in soon after the primary season ends. Numerous Democrats have expressed concern that a protracted nominating campaign could harm the party's chances of winning the White House in the fall. John McCain effectively wrapped up the Republican nomination in March.

Although Obama holds a commanding lead in delegates, Mrs. Clinton has threatened to campaign into the August convention if she is not satisfied with the results of a party committee meeting this weekend. A Democratic National Committee panel is scheduled to discuss the fate of disputed delegations from Michigan and Florida, two states that held primaries last winter in defiance of party rules.

Reid, in a radio interview in San Francisco, said he had talked since Wednesday with both Ms. Pelosi and Dean. "We agree there won't be a fight at the convention. ... We're going to urge folks to make a decision quickly next week."