Obama campaign chief sees end of nomination fight

By Alan Elsner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's campaign chief predicted on Sunday his long battle against Hillary Clinton for the party's presidential nomination would soon be over, saying "we're coming to the end of the process."

Interviewed on "Fox New Sunday," David Axelrod said undecided superdelegates to the party convention who will decide the nomination were opting for Obama, the Illinois senator who would be the first black U.S. president if elected in November.

"You're going to see people (superdelegates) making decisions at a rapid pace from this point on," he said. "We've been announcing several each day for the last few days. We're going to continue to unfurl these endorsements on a regular basis."

Clinton's senior adviser Howard Wolfson, appearing on the same program, rejected the idea that the campaign was over and predicted victory in the next state primary in West Virginia on Tuesday.

"If Barack Obama wants Hillary Clinton out of this race, beat her. Beat her in West Virginia, beat her in Puerto Rico, beat her in Kentucky," he said, referring to three of the final six contests for the nomination, all of which favor Clinton.

But he said if Obama, 46, won the nomination, the New York senator would throw all her support and resources behind him against Republican nominee John McCain.

Even if she triumphs in the remaining contests, Clinton, 60, cannot overtake Obama in pledged delegates for the August national convention in Denver. The delegates have been allocated proportionately in the state-by-state battles that began in January.

That leaves the decision on which Democrat will face McCain in the November election in the hands of around 800 superdelegates -- party leaders and activists who are free to choose whichever candidate they wish.