IN THE HEADLINES

Obama overtakes Clinton in Democratic superdelegates ... Coordinator of GOP convention quits after Newsweek report on his firm's ties to Myanmar junta ... Bill Clinton stumps for Hillary in Montana as primary nears ...

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Obama overtakes Clinton in superdelegates

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Barack Obama erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates Saturday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party's nomination for president.

Obama added superdelegates from Utah, Ohio and Arizona, as well as two from the Virgin Islands who had previously backed Clinton. The additions enabled Obama to surpass Clinton's total for the first time in the campaign. He had picked up nine endorsements Friday.

The milestone is important because Clinton would need to win over the superdelegates by a wide margin to claim the nomination. They are a group that Clinton owned before the first caucus, when she was able to cash in on the popularity of the Clinton brand among the party faithful.

Those party insiders, however, have been steadily streaming to Obama since he started posting wins in early voting states.

Superdelegates are the party and elected officials who will automatically attend the Democratic national convention this August in Denver. They can support whomever they choose, regardless of what happens in the primaries.

They are key because neither Obama nor Clinton can win the nomination without them.

Nearly 800 superdelegates will attend the convention. Obama has endorsements from 276, according to the latest tally by The Associated Press. Clinton has 271.5.

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Leader of GOP convention quits after Myanmar ties reported

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ The man picked by John McCain's campaign to run the 2008 Republican National Convention resigned after a report that his lobbying firm once represented the military regime in Myanmar.

Doug Goodyear quit Saturday as convention coordinator and issued a two sentence statement:

"Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign. I continue to strongly support John McCain for president, and wish him the best of luck in this campaign."

Goodyear, chief executive of lobbying firm DCI Group, resigned a few hours after Newsweek posted a story posted online that the company was paid $348,000 in 2002 and 2003 to represent Myanmar's junta.

"We respect Mr. Goodyear's decision, and look forward to the convention in September," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign.

Cyclone Nargis left more than 60,000 people dead or missing, and the U.N. estimates that at least 1.5 million people have been severely affected. Human rights organizations and dissident groups have bitterly accused the junta of neglecting disaster victims and blocking foreign donations of relief supplies.

Justice Department records show DCI signed a contract to work to "improve relations between the United States and Myanmar" and to act as the junta's public relations agent in Washington.

Newsweek said the firm drafted news releases praising Burma's efforts to curb the drug trade and denouncing claims by the Bush administration that the regime engaged in rape and other abuses.

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Bill Clinton takes campaign to Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) _ Former President Clinton emphasized the importance of each state having the opportunity to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee, telling a crowd of Montana Democrats that he hopes they back his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"We're down to the last few states and the last few candidates, and I think it's very important that every state be given the right to vote," the former president said Saturday.

Hillary Clinton has been under increasing pressure to exit the race and allow Democrats to rally behind Sen. Barack Obama, who has the lead in terms of both pledged delegates and superdelegates.

But in an appearance before several hundred at the Yellowstone County Democrats' Harry S. Truman Dinner, the former president said the contest should continue to Montana's June 3 primary, which is the last in the nation. At stake in the state's primary are 16 pledged delegates.

In his speech, the former president avoided any direct criticisms of Obama, choosing instead to focus on his wife's differences with the Bush administration. From ending the war in Iraq to restoring economic stability, he said Hillary Clinton would bring a sharp departure from the status quo.

"She's the best change-maker that I ever knew, and I think that's important in a president," he said. "There's a big difference between running for president and being president."

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, an Obama supporter, also addressed the crowd, saying the Illinois senator understands Western issues, including energy development and public lands management.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigns in West Virginia. Barack Obama had no public events.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain had no events scheduled.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"I always felt that if anybody establishes himself as the clear leader, the superdelegates would fall in line." _ Don Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Of the last 10 presidential elections in West Virginia, Democrats won the state six times while Republicans took it four times.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner and Ronald Powers.