Obama casts eye to U.S. general election

DES MOINES, Iowa, May 21 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama returned to Iowa, site of his first win in the race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, focusing on November's general election.

Speaking Tuesday in Des Moines, Obama praised fellow candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., calling her "one of the most formidable candidates" to seek the presidency, then turned his eye to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican nominee, The Washington Post reported.

"This year's Republican primary was a contest to see which candidate could out-Bush the other, and that is the contest John McCain won," said Obama, D-Ill.

Obama traveled to Iowa Tuesday to mark not only his first victory of the primary-and-caucus season but also his securing a majority of pledged delegates thanks to a primary win in Oregon -- a symbolic benchmark his campaign says represents Obama's becoming the party's nominee in November, the Post said.