Clinton to join Obama in final push

Barack Obama will join forces with former President Bill Clinton as he aims to consolidate his lead as the race for the White House enters the final straight.

The two men, who often antagonised one another during the prolonged and frequently-bitter primary battle between Mr Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton, will appear together at their first joint rally in Orlando, Florida, later this week.

Obama campaign aides are wary of voters becoming too complacent as the 47-year-old Illinois senator has established a clear eight-point lead over Republican rival John McCain with just nine days to go.

Orlando sits in an important swing part of the Sunshine State, where Mr Clinton could help Mr Obama win votes among the white working-class voters who strongly supported his wife.

Mr Clinton has frequently appeared on the campaign trail for Mr Obama since he gave him a rousing endorsement at the Democratic Party's national convention in August.

But this week's rally will be the first time the two men have appeared together.

Back on the campaign trail in Nevada, following a two-day break to visit his gravely-ill grandmother in Hawaii, Mr Obama mocked Mr McCain for trying to distance himself from the unpopular presidency of incumbent George W Bush.

"John McCain attacking George Bush for his out-of-hand economic policy is like Dick Cheney attacking George Bush for his go-it-alone foreign policy," Mr Obama said.

He added that Mr Bush must not mind the criticism, because he cast his vote early this week - for Mr McCain.

Over in New Mexico, Mr McCain described himself as a "fellow westerner" and continued to label his rival as a traditional liberal.

A total of 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency.

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