By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton will declare herstrong support for Barack Obama's White House bid and rallysupporters around him, she said in a letter on Thursday,drawing the curtain on a gruelling 16-month nominating fightthat badly split the Democratic Party.
Clinton will publicly back Obama on Saturday and pledge towork for party unity in the general-election race againstRepublican John McCain.
"On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to SenatorObama and my support for his candidacy," the New York senatorand former first lady said in a letter to her backers releasedearly on Thursday morning.
"I have said throughout the campaign that I would stronglysupport Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party'snominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise."
Clinton confirmed she would hold an event in Washington onSaturday to thank everyone who had backed her campaign. Theevent was originally planned for Friday but the day wasswitched to allow more supporters to attend.
"This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as Ihave always said, my differences with Senator Obama are smallcompared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and theRepublicans," she said in the letter.
"I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we canrally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too highand the task before us too important to do otherwise."
Clinton has not decided whether to officially close thecampaign or suspend it, allowing her to keep control of herdelegates to the nominating convention, aides said.
Clinton spent much of Wednesday talking to supporters, manyof whom urged her to halt her bid now that Obama has clinchedthe nomination. Obama attended two fund-raising events in NewYork City on Wednesday night and acknowledged her decision.
"Your junior senator from New York engaged in anextraordinary campaign," he told attendees at one fund-raiser."Now that the interfamily squabble is done, all of us can focuson what needs to be done in November."
RUNNING MATE
Obama, the first black candidate to lead a major U.S. partyinto a White House race, announced a three-member team to headhis search for a running mate as he began the task of unifyingthe party the day after clinching the nomination.
McCain proposed that Obama join him for a series of jointsummer town-hall meetings across the country. Obama's campaignmanager called the idea "appealing" but proposed format changesand made no immediate commitment.
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President JohnKennedy, will vet prospective Obama running mates along withformer Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and Jim Johnson,former chief executive of the mortgage lender Fannie Mae, whoperformed the same task for Democrats John Kerry in 2004 andWalter Mondale in 1984.
Near the top of their agenda will be questions about apossible teaming with Clinton, who has indicated interest inthe job after her presidential bid fell short.
"We're going to be having a conversation in coming weeks,"Obama told reporters when asked about the former first lady. Hesaid he was confident the party would be unified to win thegeneral election.
After news of Clinton's decision broke, Obama adviser LindaDouglass told reporters she ran a great race.
"Her supporters have every reason to gather and celebratethat and we're confident the party will be united with herhelp," she said.
Clinton's supporters turned up the pressure for her to benamed as Obama's vice presidential candidate. Robert Johnson,founder of Black Entertainment Television, said he wrote to theCongressional Black Caucus urging members to push Obama tochoose Clinton.
Obama's campaign said the search was just beginning.
"Senator Obama is pleased to have three talented anddedicated individuals managing this rigorous process,"spokesman Bill Burton said. "He will work closely with them inthe coming weeks but ultimately this will be his decision andhis alone."
The victory by Obama, son of a black Kenyan father andwhite mother from Kansas, marked a milestone in U.S. history.It came 45 years after the height of the civil rights movementand followed one of the closest and longest nomination fightsin recent U.S. political history.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Donna Smith, CarenBohan, Thomas Ferraro, Ellen Wulfhorst and JoAnne Allen;Editing by John O'Callaghan)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
