WASHINGTON June 1: Barack Obama has almost seized the Democratic nomination for America’s 2008 presidential election after a committee decision that also appears to have further divided the party on racial lines.

On Saturday, the Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee agreed to a deal reseating the Florida and Michigan delegates but under a formula that halves their number and divides them between the two candidates.

“I believe sometime next week we will know precisely who the Democratic nominee is — it is 100 per cent certain,” predicted Obama communications chief Robert Gibbs. “We are ready to begin the general election campaign.”

Angry Clinton aides immediately threatened to appeal the deal, brokered by the 30-member committee.

“This motion will hijack ... delegates won by Hillary Clinton,” fumed Mrs Clinton’s point man on the committee, Harold Ickes. “Mrs Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the credentials committee.”

The response drew cheers from Clinton supporters shouting, “Denver!, Denver!, Denver!” Denver is where this year’s Democratic National Convention will be held starting Aug 25.

The party had earlier decided not to invite delegates from Florida and Michigan to Denver for nominating its candidate for the presidential election because both states had held their primaries ahead of an agreed schedule.

Counting delegates assigned on Saturday, Senator Obama leads Senator Clinton 2,052 to 1,877.5. This increased the number necessary for nomination to 2,118 from 2,026 before Saturday’s decision.

This makes it seemingly impossible for Mrs Clinton to collect the required number of delegates, no matter how long she remains in the race.

In Florida, the committee unanimously approved a measure that would seat all the members of the state’s delegation but at half of their original strength. That puts the final delegate allocation from the state at 52.5 for Mrs Clinton, 33.5 for Mr Obama and 6.5 for former senator John Edwards.

On Michigan, the committee was far more divided — passing a motion to allocate 69 delegates for Mrs Clinton and 59 for Mr Obama and then immediately halving those totals so that Senator Clinton comes away from Michigan with 34.5 delegates to Senator Obama’s 29.5. This gives Senator Clinton a net equivalent of 24 pledged delegates.

The committee rejected Mrs Clinton’s demand that since Mr Obama had removed his name from the ballot papers in Michigan after the party decided not to invite state representatives to the convention, she should be given all the delegates.

This means Mr Obama could gain enough delegates and super-delegates to try to claim victory as early as Tuesday’s final primaries in South Dakota and Montana, or soon thereafter.

Mrs Clinton is expected to win tomorrow in Puerto Rico and take more than half the delegates available. Barring a miracle for Mrs Clinton, she would have to take all the delegates from the two states and one republic and persuade the 200 plus undecided super-delegates to vote for her nomination.

The chances of this happening for Hillary Clinton are zero.

Technically both candidates could finish with less than the required number of delegates barring the super-delegates. If that should happen the Democrats would go to Denver divided on racial lines.

Political pundits are already predicting that many working class whites who voted for Mrs Clinton may not vote for Mr Obama.

In Washington, Clinton supporters staged a noisy but peaceful demonstration outside the Marriott Wardman Park hotel while Democratic officials debated the fate of Michigan and Florida.

Peggy Gail Forehand, a Clinton supporter from Tallahassee, Florida, told reporters outside the hotel that she would vote Republican unless Democrats allow every delegate from Florida and Michigan to participate in the nomination process.

“If the party wants to take away my vote that’s fine, I will simply go to the other party,” she said. “Hillary Clinton doesn’t need a last-ditch effort to stay in the race. She’s staying in the race. She’s made it very clear she’s staying in the race.”