The Democratic elite lined up one by one yesterday to put Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — and their own party — out of their misery.

After sitting on the fence stubbornly, pompously or in fear of the former First Lady’s wrath for the past 16 months, the undeclared super-delegates knew when the time had come to rally around the winner.

Last night Mrs Clinton's supporters gathered for a final rally — or possibly a wake — at a Manhattan sports arena three floors below ground level cut off from the outside world. Reporters who found their mobile phones did not work were being charged up to $2,000 a time by the debt-laden campaign for a land line.

Mr Obama, having started the day 40 delegates short of the finishing line, ended it in exultant fashion with a speech at the convention centre in St Paul, Minnesota, where the Republicans will anoint John McCain as his general election opponent.

His campaign had spent the day persuading the diminishing pool of super-delegates that they should pledge their support in time for him to claim victory when he took the stage. By lunchtime he had received a dozen pledges, but many were unwilling to break promises to Mrs Clinton that they would stay neutral until polls in Montana and South Dakota closed. These included a large slice of the party’s strength on Capitol Hill — the likes of Senators Tom Harkin, Ken Salazar and Benjamin Cardin, who met for a “unity session” at Democratic campaign offices on Monday.

Mr Obama was happy to wait, delaying his speech until after voting had finished in the final two primaries. The cable news channels excitedly chattered as they counted down the number of delegates he needed. By tea time he was maybe ten short. By dinner, it was five.

Jimmy Carter told reporters in his home state of Georgia that “the fact is the Obama people already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight.” The former President was among those long suspected of favouring Mr Obama over anyone called Clinton. So was the House of Representatives majority whip, James Clyburn, who announced yesterday morning that he was supporting Mr Obama.

Mr Clyburn, the most senior African American in the Democratic leadership, said: “He is elevating the political rhetoric, he is elevating our party, he is energising our party, he is bringing to the process new voters.” He added that Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker and another Obama supporter, would be coming out today or tomorrow. Other, lesser, names were gently encouraged by the Obama campaign to seize their moment in the sun or risk being confined to the shade today. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan superdelegate who was previously a Clinton ally, duly obliged: “Now, as the nominating process comes to an end, it is time to unite behind Barack Obama, who will be our Democratic nominee for the White House.”

Senator Barbara Boxer, one of Mrs Clinton’s strongest supporters, told a press conference that she did not want to see the fight continuing all the way to the convention and that it ought to end when one of the candidates got the 2,118 delegates needed.

At Mrs Clinton's New York rally last night there was still a sense of denial. Walter Coppage, an African American, said: “She's not going to give up. I've met her. She's a great person, a great one. And if she loses, I'll vote for McCain.” Barbara Whitaker, 47, believed that Mrs Clinton would run as an independent. “I think she has been treated horribly. I think we're going to elect our first woman president running as an independent.”

Many Clinton supporters remain hostile to Mr Obama, who has some work to do if he is to win over the women, Hispanic and the white working-class voters who backed her in such record numbers this year.

Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to Bill Clinton and one of his wife's most vociferous defenders, told The Times that he was launching an internet petition drive to get her onto the presidential ticket as Mr Obama's running mate. But in a sign of the raw feelings in Mrs Clinton’s camp, anothber close confidant suggested that there was little prospect of her being offered the vice-presidential nomination.

The source added: “Obama has no feeling for the party, her supporters or how to fight the general election. He will be the nominee for better or for worse. I think we’re just about to see him subjected to the scrutiny which he has managed to avoid for so long.”

But Mr Obama disclosed that he had spoken to Mrs Clinton on Sunday. “She and I have been on this same journey together,” he said, “and I told her that once the dust settled, I was looking forward to meeting with her at a time and place of her choosing.” In recent speeches, he has been at pains to praise his rival and promised that they would be fighting alongside each other against Mr McCain in November.

The Republican nominee-in-waiting travelled to New Orleans last night to launch his own general election campaign. In a speech praising Mrs Clinton for her “tenacity and courage”, he acknowledged Mr Obama as his rival for the White House, but poured scorn on his foreign policy and views on the Iraq war.

“You will hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release, that I’m running for President Bush’s third term,” he said. “Why does Senator Obama believe it’s so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it’s very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false.”

The small crowd at the event was in sharp contrast to the huge audience that greeted Mr Obama. But the former Vietnam PoW has long since eschewed such glitz.

“I don’t seek the presidency on the presumption I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need,” he said. “I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me.”

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