WASHINGTON –  Illinois Senator Barack Obama said his strong showing in Tuesday’s primaries across the United States demonstrated that he was the best Democratic candidate to bring home a victory in the November general election.

"Today … in states north and south, east and west, what began as a whisper in Springfield (Illinois) has swelled to a chorus of millions demanding change," Obama said at a rally in his hometown of Chicago. "Our time has come, our movement is real, and change is coming to America."

Obama, 46, has won at least 11 of 22 states that voted in Democratic contests on so-called Super Tuesday, including a number of smaller, rural states in the middle of the country, but appeared to have fallen short in California and New York – the two largest prizes, according to preliminary figures.

The youthful senator congratulated rival Hillary Clinton for an "outstanding" campaign, but insisted that only he would be able to lure moderates to the Democratic cause on 4 November.

Obama suggested that choosing Clinton as the Democratic candidate would be like "going into a race with independents and Republicans already united against us," and turned his attention to voters in upcoming primary states.

"To all those Americans who have yet to join this movement but still hunger for change … to all of you who still harbour those doubts … we need you to stand with us," Obama said.

[Copyright dpa 2008]

Subject: Super Tuesday, US elections