Obama turns attention to general election

CHICAGO, May 8 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., says he plans a new tactic in his presidential battle with Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. -- he's going to ignore her.

Confident he's got the nomination about locked up, Obama said in Chicago he will begin focusing on the November general election and John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Obama still will be campaigning in states that remain on the Democratic primary calendar, such as Oregon, where he'll be this weekend.

"Everyone is eager to get on with this," said David Axelrod, Obama's lead strategist.

Clinton meanwhile showed no sign she was considering dropping out of the race after Tuesday's split results in which she won Indiana narrowly and lost decisively in North Carolina.

Showing she still believes she can win, Clinton quickly set up a campaign stop in West Virginia, which holds its primary Tuesday.