Obama's words electrify Democrats

Richmond, Virginia/Washington: White House hopeful Barack Obama revelled in a trio of staggering wins over Hillary Clinton as he raised the roof at a Democratic dinner late Saturday with his speech.

"We won north, we won south and we won in between," Obama told a roaring crowd, referring to his victories over Clinton in Washington state, Louisiana and Nebraska.

"The Democratic Party must stand for change, not change as a slogan, change we can believe in. That is what this campaign it all about," he told some 6,000 people packed into a university sports hall for the Jefferson-Jackson dinner.

To deafening cheers Obama, 46, hammered home to party activists that he was the candidate of change, as he laid claim to the Democratic Party's nomination and down the track the presidency.

"The Republicans in Washington are already running on the politics of yesterday, which is why your party must be the party of tomorrow and that is the party I intend to lead as president of the United States of America," he said.

Moving beyond the bitter tussle with Clinton for the Democratic Party's nomination for the November elections, Obama projected himself as the most electable candidate.

And he pledged that "arm in arm ... we are going to remake this country block by block, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, county by county, state by state.

"Virginia, this is our moment, this is our time," he said, referring to the state's nominating contests tomorrow.

Tomorrow's contests have been dubbed the Potomac Primary, as voters in neighbouring Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC, which all lie along the Potomac river, cast ballots.

The three account for some 200 delegates to the Democratic convention in August, which will crown the party's nominee for the November presidential elections.

Obama, bidding to be the first black president, is expected to do well in tomorrow's vote due to the large African-American population in the region. In Virginia, he was also endorsed by Governor Tim Kaine.

Senator Clinton, viewed last year as virtually unstoppable in her bid to become the US Democratic presidential nominee, is now seeking to portray herself as the underdog against rival Obama.

Political analysts saw some irony in the idea that Clinton, who has been a household name since her husband, Bill Clinton, first ran for president in 1992, is pinning the label of "establishment" on her opponent.

But many analysts saw it as an effort by Clinton, who would become the first woman US president, to try to neutralise Obama's message that he is the candidate of change.

The New York senator and former first lady, 60, made her own point on the campaign trail in Maine on Saturday.

"He has increasingly relied on big endorsements and celebrities to sort of attach himself to, to get the kind of validation that comes from that sort of endorsement," Clinton said when asked if she was now the "underdog" in the race against Obama.

Does Obama stand a real chance or is he just a flash in the pan? Does this clear the way for McCain?