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He predicted Clinton will win the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries ''by significant margins,'' although he will campaign in those states next week.

After stopping for lunch at Luis' Taqueria in Woodburn, Ore., Obama told reporters it was premature for him to talk with the Clinton camp about possibly helping her retire her multimillion-dollar campaign debt, much of it from Clinton's personal loans.

Asked if he might consider such a move later, Obama said: ''Historically, after a campaign is done and you want to unify the party, particularly when you've had a strong opponent, you want to make sure that you're putting that opponent in a strong position so that they can work to win an election in November. And so obviously I'd want to have a broad-ranging discussion with Senator Clinton about how I could make her feel good about the process and have her on the team moving forward.''

Meanwhile Friday, Clinton began airing an ad in Oregon in which former CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, say the New York senator has the strongest plan to end the war in Iraq.

Clinton's top fundraisers and advisers said she would continue campaigning through the final primaries, believing voters in the remaining six contests deserve a voice in the nominating process.

Hassan Nemazee, co-chairman of her finance committee, said her fundraising in recent days had been sufficient to carry the campaign through the next several weeks. ''There is no reason for her to stop now,'' Nemazee said.

The McCain campaign issued a lengthy rebuttal to Obama's remarks. It noted that Obama once supported a gas tax suspension, which Obama now calls a mistake. It accused him of seeking unwise hikes in taxes and spending.

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