U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama slipped away for a private meeting with former rival John Edwards on Sunday to seek his endorsement as the Illinois senator and Hillary Clinton battle for Wisconsin.
With eight straight wins under his belt, Obama hoped to make it two more on Tuesday in nominating contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii, where he was born. Recent opinion polls put him ahead in Wisconsin, but not by much.
Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, made a detour from the campaign trail on Sunday morning, flying from Chicago to North Carolina to meet Edwards at his home and left behind the retinue of media who normally travel with him.
Clinton, a New York senator, made a similar trip earlier this month.
Obama had hoped to visit Edwards last Monday but the meeting was cancelled when it threatened to turn into a media circus.
In the tight race to become the Democratic nominee in the November election, both Obama and Clinton want to attract the former North Carolina senator's supporters.
Obama and Edwards - who dropped out of the Democratic race in January - discussed "the state of the campaign and the pressing issues facing American families," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.
Edwards focused on the needs of working people during his campaign, and Clinton has picked up on his message of economic populism.
Bad weather in Wisconsin forced both Obama and Clinton to cancel planned campaign events in the state. Clinton, a former first lady, flew to Wausau amid freezing rain only to have to circle back to Milwaukee, where she had spent the night because the plane could not land in Wausau.
Clinton, who has seen her big lead in the national polls disappear, instead visited a diner and a Latin American grocery store.
