Confident Obama Looks Beyond Primaries

Barack Obama tonight portrayed himself as the likely Democratic candidate and predicted the party will reunite once the primaries end, CNN reports. Analysts saw the speech as a direct appeal to superdelegates, a kickoff to the general election. After his resounding victory in North Carolina, Obama rejected the notion that the primary race has divided the party—that Clinton supporters or his supporters are so bitter they will jump ship and vote for John McCain. "I'm here to tell you tonight that I don't believe it."

"Ultimately, this race is not about Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or John McCain," Obama said. "This election is about you— the American people—and whether we will have a president and a party that can lead us toward a brighter future." (More Barack Obama stories.)