DENVER -- Just in case anyone had any doubts that she was wavering in her support for Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton set them straight last night.

		Reader Forum: What did you think? What did you think of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech Tuesday to the Democratic National Convention? Share your views in our presidential election forum.

Declaring that "nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance," Mrs. Clinton told delegates at the Democratic National Convention that "Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president."

In a much-anticipated speech aimed as much at her supporters -- many of whom have resisted throwing their support to Mr. Obama -- as to voters across the country, Mrs. Clinton was unequivocal, not only in her support of Mr. Obama, but also in her opposition to the man who will face off against him in November.

"No way. No how. No McCain," she said of Republican Sen. John McCain, to a cheering throng of delegates and party officials that included her beaming husband, former president Bill Clinton.

Her speech was part praise for her former primary opponent, part fond remembrance of her own historic campaign, part rallying cry for more women candidates and part warning of the consequences of Democratic defeat in November.

"My friends, it is time to take back the country we love," she said. "Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines."

Even before last night's stemwinder of a speech, and despite lingering talk of a rift between the two campaigns, the much-hyped Clinton-Obama psychodrama seemed to finally be playing itself out yesterday.

At a sold-out "gala" lunch packed with her supporters. Mrs. Clinton seemed to be settling comfortably into her new role as chief cheerleader for the Obama-Biden ticket.

In a bit of a preview of her convention address, she threw some red meat about Mr. McCain to her eager audience, a group of about 2,500 women at the event sponsored by Emily's List, which raises money for progressive women candidates.

"John McCain is my friend and colleague, but he still doesn't believe women deserve equal pay for equal work, or the right to choose," Mrs. Clinton said, to boos and hisses from the audience. "He would turn the clock back, and what we need from our president is forward movement and the kind of progress we would expect for the next generation of Americans.

She also had warm words for Michelle Obama, in particular -- praise returned by Mrs. Obama in a separate, surprise appearance a short while later.

"I know a little bit about how the White House works," Mrs. Clinton said, "and if the president is not exactly on our side, call the First Lady, and with Michelle Obama we'll have someone who will answer that phone."

While there was still talk of forcing a full roll call vote at tonight's convention session -- a protracted process that DNC officials seemed to want to avoid -- a number of women attending the Emily's List lunch said they had moved beyond the need for any further protests.

"Look, I think there are people who are so committed it's hard for them to let go," said Bonnie Reiter, 61, of Del Ray Beach, Florida, who was standing in line to hear Mrs. Clinton speak. "They have a dream, and I understand that, but in the long run it doesn't serve Democrats well."

"I don't think there's really anything else Obama can or should do," added Latifa Ring, 52, of Houston, adding that she came to the event "because I'm a woman, I believe in change, and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Michelle are all part of that change. Time will heal things."

"Hillary Clinton is a politician," added Beth Wampler, 46, of Denver. "She knows you get over it and you move on."

But does Bill Clinton? There have been numerous reports that the former president is having a tougher time getting over his wife's defeat, but Mr. Clinton has remained silent throughout -- perhaps too silent for some Obama supporters, who want to see an all-out effort by the Clintons to help Mr. Obama win in November.

"It can damage their [the Clintons'] legacy if they don't get a grip pretty quick," civil rights activist Al Sharpton told the New York Times yesterday, and some delegates said they remained confused about whether they'll be allowed to cast roll call votes and demonstrate on the convention floor for her.

A tentative deal between the Obama and Clinton camps would allow some states to cast votes before someone -- Mrs. Clinton? -- would ask that the convention nominate Mr. Obama by unanimous consent, avoiding a raucous floor demonstration that might harm efforts to project a united image.

"It seems to be a little more of a problem than I anticipated," former Democratic Party chairman Don Fowler told the Associated Press. "All you need is 200 people in that crowd to boo and stuff like that and it will be replayed 900 times. And that's not what you want out of this."

While bitterness, anger and disappointment continue to brew among other members of the Pennsylvania delegation yesterday, there was a sense among even Mrs. Clinton's strongest supporters that the couple needed to be more forthright and forthcoming in their support of Mr. Obama.

"I wouldn't say I am annoyed, but I am concerned," said Evelyn Richardson, a DNC member, a superdelegate and a resident of Homewood who supported Mrs. Clinton. "I just thing we have to consider the party above any one person."

Others believe the rift is just a fiction created by the media.

"With all due respect, the Clintons have moved on," said Marcel Groen, a delegate from Montgomery County. "This is just a media driven rift. It's not real, and by the end of the week you'll see that."

If the rift is real, it's probably more pronounced among supporters than among the two campaigns, said Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Maryland lieutenant governor and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"It wasn't a split, it was a crevice, a Grand Canyon!" Ms. Kennedy Townsend laughed, who said she was a staunch supporter of Mrs. Clinton's, while her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and her cousin Caroline Kennedy came out for Mr. Obama.

"Look, it's very hard to run a tough campaign and forget about it immediately," said Ms. Kennedy Townsend, who lost a hard-fought race for governor of Maryland and now works for several non-profit organizations. "What I find about Mrs. Clinton, though, is that she has continuously said to her supporters that they have to get behind Sen. Obama, and I think in the end those supporters will listen to what she has to say."