Obama Takes An Early Victory Lap
By Cerl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn
Jeff Zeleny contributed reporting
Senator Barack Obama went to the Capitol, trying to rally Democrats around him
Even as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton persisted with her campaign for the nomination, Mr. Obama made a celebratory return to the Capitol, where he received an enthusiastic reception on the House floor in an appearance staged to position him as the party’s inevitable nominee.
Behind the scenes, there were new discussions between Mr. Obama and the party leadership. Senior Democratic officials said he met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi when their paths crossed at Democratic Party headquarters. They had spoken by telephone earlier in the week. Ms. Pelosi and Mrs. Clinton have had no known recent talks.
Mr. Obama made no public effort to pressure Mrs. Clinton from the race, and in interviews with CNN and NBC News he praised her as a formidable candidate who could not yet be counted out. But he said that he was likely to lock up a majority of the pledged delegates — those awarded by voting in the primary and caucus states — after the Kentucky and Oregon primaries on May 20, and that at that point he could declare victory.
Mr. Obama has not spent much time in Washington during the campaign and he has hardly ever been spotted in the House, where all senators have floor privileges. He didn’t exercise those privileges in his own chamber Thursday, missing two Senate votes on a flood insurance bill.
