Hillary Clinton may have a financial incentive to remain in the presidential race for a while. And she has Senator John McCain to thank for it.

Clinton has loaned her struggling campaign $11 million in recent months. A little-known provision of a 2002 campaign-finance law cosponsored by McCain prevents candidates who drop out of the race from raising money after the nominating conventions to repay themselves for personal loans.

If Clinton fails to come up with the funds by the Democratic convention in August and she fails to gain the nomination, she will be out the $11 million. If she quits before then, she may find it hard to get people to keep giving cash so she can retire her debt.

That may ratchet up pressure on Clinton to cut a deal with rival Barack Obama, who is keeping the door open to possibly helping pay her debt, which also includes more than $10 million in unpaid bills to vendors and consultants.

"Helping to pay off the debt would certainly be a clear signal of Obama's desire to bring the two candidates together," said Anthony Corrado, professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

BLOOMBERG

Obama regrets division between Jews, blacks

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama said that he regrets the division that has grown between Jews and blacks and that he remains committed to ensuring Israel's security.

Obama discussed his relationship with the Jewish community and Israel in an interview posted yesterday on The Atlantic magazine's website, part of his continuing effort to reassure Jewish voters who have expressed some unease about his candidacy. The situation didn't improve as an adviser to the militant Palestinian group Hamas recently said they hope Obama wins the presidency.

Obama said some in the Arab world may be attracted to his candidacy because he spent part of his childhood in the Muslim nation of Indonesia, has the middle name Hussein, and advocates presidential-level talks with foreign leaders ostracized by the Bush administration.

"I welcome the Muslim world's accurate perception that I am interested in opening up dialogue and interested in moving away from the unilateral policies of George Bush, but nobody should mistake that for a softer stance when it comes to terrorism or when it comes to protecting Israel's security or making sure that the alliance is strong and firm," Obama said. "You will not see, under my presidency, any slackening in commitment to Israel's security.

"I think that the idea of a secure Jewish state is a fundamentally just idea, and a necessary idea, given not only world history but the active existence of anti-Semitism," Obama said. "That does not mean that I would agree with every action of the state of Israel, because it's a government and it has politicians, and as a politician myself I am deeply mindful that we are imperfect creatures and don't always act with justice uppermost on our minds."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MoveOn.org seeking funds to air contest-winning ad

A rather predictable entry won a contest hosted by the antiwar group MoveOn.org for a TV ad supporting Barack Obama.

"I'm a lifelong Republican and I'm voting for Barack Obama," a Southern California police detective and veteran says in the ad, which echoes Obama's stance that he will appeal to Republicans, independents, and Democrats.

The group, which is seeking donations to air the ad, says it was selected from more than 1,100 submissions and after 5.5 million online votes and judging by a celebrity panel.

FOON RHEE

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