Obama says he'll be Democratic nominee

WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Wednesday he will have the delegates to become his party's nominee.

"We have to just take one state at a time," the Illinois senator said Wednesday on NBC's "Today" show. "And we feel very confident that by the time we get to the convention, we're going to have the most delegates, we will be the nominee, and then we're going to be able to focus on John McCain and the contest in November."

Obama won the Vermont primary Tuesday, while party competitor Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., captured Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island, reinvigorating her campaign.

Despite her showing, "Sen. Clinton barely dented the delegate count," Obama said.

Obama said focusing on the issues -- healthcare, affordable college education and the war in Iraq -- should mean his candidacy will do well.

Meanwhile, Clinton told CNN on Wednesday that Obama lacks the experience necessary to take on Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

"I have a lifetime of experience. Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience. Senator Obama's campaign is about one speech he made in 2002," Clinton said, referring a speech Obama made announcing his opposition to the then-pending invasion of Iraq.