Hillary 'needs a miracle' despite ANOTHER Obama-priest controversy

‘By this time next week, it will all be over, give or take a day,’ said Harry Reid, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate.

With just three primaries left, only a miracle can save Hillary Clinton’s crippled campaign.

By the time the last votes have been cast in Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday, Mr Obama is hoping to have the final 44 delegates he needs to win.

On the campaign trail: Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, faces the media before flying to Chicago on Wednesday

Holding the baby: Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, meets a four-month-old girl during a campaign rally in San Diego on Wednesday

If he is a few shy of the magic delegate tally of 2,026, a flurry of endorsements from some of the nearly 200 uncommitted superdelegates - elected Democrats and senior officials who can choose who to support - should easily put him over the top.

Mr Reid said the party leadership, including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and national chairman Howard Dean, will urge dithering superdelegates to come off the fence as soon as all the states have voted.

Mr Obama, 46, leads the 60-year-old former First Lady by about 200 delegates going into Sunday's primary in Puerto Rico.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Mr Obama.

He said he was ‘deeply disappointed’ by a Chicago clergyman’s sermon that mocked Mrs Clinton for crying over Mr Obama’s sudden popularity.

‘She always thought that, ‘This is mine. I’m Bill’s wife. I’m white,’’ Rev. Michael Pfleger said in a video of his sermon circulating on the Internet.

‘And then out of nowhere came, ‘Hey, I’m Barack Obama.’ And she said, ‘Oh damn, where did you come from? I’m white. I’m entitled. There’s a black man stealing my show.’

He added: 'She wasn’t the only one crying. There was a whole lot of white people crying.’

The controversy came after Mr Obama distanced himself from his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright for his inflammatory attacks on the U.S. over race and terrorism.

Mrs Clinton is clinging on to a slim hope that the Democrat rules committee will hand her a lion’s share of delegates from the disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan when they meet to discuss the debacle on Saturday.

Although she won both states, the votes were disqualified because of a squabble over the dates of the primaries. The most likely compromise is that the delegates will be shared between the two candidates without making any real dent on the Illinois senator’s winning margin.