Obama gets a boost with Clintons on board

Washington: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, already ahead in the polls, was expected to get a further boost on Sunday when former president Bill Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, were to make a joint campaign appearances on his behalf.

The nation's best known and most powerful Democrats for nearly two decades will be on the road for Obama, who vanquished Hillary Clinton last spring in a bitter primary contest.

The Clintons apparently have put that behind them and will stump for Obama's election.

The Clintons were to appear with Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, at a rally on Sunday in the working-class town of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The location is meaningful because Biden was born in Scranton and lived there for several years as a child, while Hillary Clinton's father grew up in the town and is buried there. The former first couple later will follow separate itineraries, also campaigning for House and Senate candidates.

On Saturday, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain toned down his rhetoric against Obama, apparently concerned with angry sloganeering from supporters at some of his rallies - and criticism that he had gone too far.

Slight nod

Obama, in turn, made a slight nod to McCain as he campaigned in Philadelphia and asked voters to have faith in him as the next president.

Even as he criticised McCain's economic proposals, Obama acknowledged that the Republican nominee has begun to ask his supporters to temper their attacks on him.

"I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other," Obama told thousands of supporters at the first of four outdoor rallies in Philadelphia.

Police estimated he drew more than 60,000 people to the four events.