Obama concedes he'll lose W. Virgina to Hillary

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Barack Obama sported a flag lapel pin and talked up patriotism Monday as he campaigned in blue-collar West Virginia. He also shot a solid game of pool.

The Illinois senator concedes he will lose Tuesday's West Virginia primary to Hillary Rodham Clinton, probably by a wide margin. But the coal-mining state might be a good backdrop for some of his longer-range goals nonetheless, such as battling claims that he's insufficiently patriotic and, more frivolously, that he's lousy at sports beyond basketball.

Clinton herself made four stops in West Virginia, hoping for a huge win that can sustain her waning hopes of winning the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama told several thousand people at the Charleston Civic Center that patriotism means more than saluting flags and holding parades. He criticized Republican presidential candidate John McCain for opposing a Democratic bill to expand education benefits for veterans.

"At a time when we're facing the largest homecoming since the Second World War," Obama said of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, "the true test of our patriotism is whether we will serve our returning heroes as well as they've served us."

For only the second time in many weeks, Obama wore an American flag pin. He has said he stopped wearing such pins routinely because he felt they became a substitute for "true patriotism" after the 2001 terrorist attacks. He recently wore a flag pin, for a day, given to him by a veteran. Campaign aides gave no explanation for Monday's decision, except to say that sometimes Obama wears a flag pin and sometimes he does not.

Pointing to the Bush administration in his comments on taking care of veterans, Obama said, "We know that over the last eight years we've already fallen short of meeting this test." He cited shabby conditions at such facilities as Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and long waits and bureaucratic obstacles facing many who seek care from the Veterans Affairs Department.

"When our troops go into battle, they serve no faction," Obama said. "They serve no party. They represent no race or region. They are simply Americans."

He proposed expanded veterans' benefits for health care, education, housing and psychiatric treatment. He said McCain opposes a Democratic-crafted bill in Congress to expand education benefits "because he thinks it's too generous."

McCain's campaign said the Arizona senator backs a Republican alternative that is better because it enhances benefits for those who stay longer in the military, thereby encouraging recruitment and retention of troops.

Clinton, meanwhile, directed few comments at Obama, but implied the party could lose in November if he is the nominee. Stopping for breakfast at Tudor's Biscuit World in Charleston, she said, "I keep telling people, no Democrat has won the White House since 1916 without winning West Virginia."

At a campaign stop in Logan, W.Va., Clinton was introduced by state Senate Majority Leader H. Truman Chafin, who talked about Clinton carrying the state 80-20 or even 90-10.

"You think this crowd's noisy, just wait till we win like 80-20," Chafin said.

Obama, after his Charleston speech, stopped at Schultzie's Billiards hall. In his shirt sleeves and tie, he showed greater skill at pool than he had shown at bowling during a much-lampooned stop last month in Pennsylvania.

As a small crowd oohed and ahhed at his third consecutive good shot, Obama said his talent at billiards was "the sign of a misspent youth. I wasn't doing wholesome things like bowling."

Still, Obama lost to Iraqi war veteran Paul Scott, 24, when he accidentally knocked in the eight ball while trying a difficult shot.

Asked by a reporter how he would deal with voters who think he is "un-American," Obama said that if people follow the news, "they'll know that I'm a practicing Christian. They'll know that my grandfather fought in World War II, and I was raised to love America. And all these phony e-mails talking how I don't pledge allegiance are just political smears."

Obama's campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, as he pivots to a general election strategy.

It will be his first time campaigning in either state since signing a pledge nine months ago to boycott them after they violated national party rules with early primaries.

All the Democratic presidential candidates agreed to boycott Michigan and Florida. Clinton won both states, although Obama's name was not on the Michigan ballot, and no delegates were awarded. Restoring the delegates is a major part of Clinton's longshot strategy for the nomination.

Obama, asked Monday about a proposal to give 69 Michigan delegates to Clinton and 59 to him, said: "I think it is a legitimate approach to trying to solve the problem."

Clinton's last best hope is to use strong showings in West Virginia and Kentucky to make the case that Obama is weak among key Democratic constituents.

Obama's campaign announced a five-state tour over the next two weeks that includes stops in remaining primary states South Dakota and Oregon but is dominated by swing states where he hopes to run well against McCain.

Obama leads in delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination. He'll try to rebound from Tuesday's expected loss in West Virginia by campaigning this week in Missouri, a state that President Bush won in 2000 and 2004.

On Wednesday, he plans to make two stops in Michigan -- the swing Macomb County and the GOP stronghold of Grand Rapids. He plans to spend three days starting May 21 in Florida, with stops in Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach County and Miami. The area is a popular stop for political fundraising, but Obama's campaign says he will mostly be appealing for votes.

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Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.