Obama or Hillary

Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton reached for the finish line of the contentious Ohio and Texas primary campaigns on Monday as senior Democrats expressed concern the party could suffer this fall if their struggle goes much longer.

"I'm just getting warmed up," said Clinton, looking beyond this week's contests and shrugging off 11 straight primary and caucus defeats as well as a three-digit deficit in delegates.

The former First Lady campaigned from Ohio, where she accused Obama of double talk on NAFTA, to Texas, where her new television commercial questioned his readiness to serve as commander in chief.

Obama spent his day in Texas, a state rich in military bases, where he pledged to begin the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq next year and envisioned a "seamless transition from active duty to civilian life" for men and women who leave the armed forces.