Hillary backs Obama: ‘No way, no how, no McCain’

Hillary Rodham Clinton made an emphatic plea for Democrats to unite behind the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, exhorting her supporters to back her one-time rival because victory over Republican John McCain "is a fight for the future and a fight we must win together".

The former first lady skewered McCain and drew thunderous applause Tuesday night as she coined what might become the most powerful political slogan of the fall campaign: "No way, no how, no McCain."

Clinton’s speech will be the most closely scrutinised at the Democratic National Conven-tion, a gathering that opened with great drama – full of speculation about how full-throated her support for Obama might be.

Bill’s turn

Bill Clinton once vowed to fight for voters "until the last dog dies". The former president’s prime-time speech is the capstone on an eventful day at the Democratic National Convention that will formally nominate Obama, 47, as the Democrats’ candidate. After a campaign stop with veterans in Billings, Montana, Obama will arrive in Denver, where he will accept the Democratic nomination today.

HIT BUSH TO hurt McCAIN

A two-headed creature is stalking the Democratic convention, getting kicked and pummelled at every turn. "Bush-McCain" is not a political ticket, but a hyphenated target that Democrats have invented from necessity.

It’s much easier, they have found, to ridicule an unpopular President who stayed stateside during the Vietnam War than it is to criticise a former prisoner of war seen by many as a likable maverick. By morphing the two, they can smack one and hurt the other. That’s how Barack Obama’s allies are going at John McCain, linking him so relentlessly to President George W. Bush that you’d think Bush is the Republican nominee this fall.

Bloggers at convention

Bloggers have arrived at the Democratic convention, getting better seats and more respect than they ever have.

Bloggers say there’s a hunger for personalised information tailored to specific audiences. That’s why Skowronek’s blog, www.yanquimike.com.ar, is catering to US expatriates in Buenos Aires, and Starbard, 26, is focusing on matters of interest to native populations in Alaska with alaskareal.blogspot.com.

People of faith

• Religious leaders who have been invited to the table at this week’s Democratic National Convention are not sitting quietly with their hands in their laps. The head of a large African-American denomination challenged the party on abortion. A 30-something evangelical Christian author warned against Democrats who mock believers.
• Although well aware that party officials have political reasons for reaching out to them, several faith figures taking part in convention events said they want to go beyond talking about how faith and values inform longstanding Democratic policies. They are also calling for change on core Democratic issues, which may create tension.