Washington, May 28 : Former U. S. President Bill Clinton has said that his wife Hillary Clinton has been treated disrespectfully and warned the Democratic Party that it has less chance of winning the next presidential election if she is not the nominee.

"She is winning the general election today and he (Obama) is not, according to all the evidence. I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running," news. com. au quoted Clinton as saying on his wife's behalf while campaigning in South Dakota on Sunday.

"I can't believe it. It is just frantic the way they are trying to push and pressure and bully all these super-delegates to come out," he added.

He also suggested some were trying to "cover up" Senator Clinton's chances of winning in key states that Democrats will have to win in the general election.

Clinton did not explain who he was accusing of covering up Senator Clinton's chances.

Barack Obama, who is the frontrunner for the nomination, will be in Nevada and Colorado — two states that are potentially winnable in the presidential election in November — rather than in the last remaining primary territory and states: Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana.

A new Newsweek poll shows Senator Obama and Republican nominee John McCain tied among voters nationally at 46 percent. Senator Clinton fares slightly better against Senator McCain, 48 percent to 44 percent, though this is within the survey's margin of error.

The next big showdown between the Democratic candidates will come this Saturday when the party holds its rules committee meeting in Washington D. C., to decide what to do about the Michigan and Florida delegations, which held early primaries in breach of the party rules.

The meeting is threatening to become a circus, with the Clinton campaign planning to bus thousands of supporters to the hotel venue to support her case that the two delegations should be reinstated and in the proportions that they voted, which were heavily in her favour.

If those votes were counted as cast, Senator Clinton would still trail Senator Obama in the overall delegate count, but the gap would narrow and the number required to clinch the nomination would be 2209.

This would mean the race could be prolonged. It would need every delegate to declare their preference before the titanic struggle between Senators Clinton and Obama could be declared over.

There has been renewed speculation that Senator Clinton is trying to deal her way into the vice-presidency, despite the frosty relations between her camp and that of Senator Obama.

Many people in the party would like to see the two senators on the same ticket. Other names floated as possible running mates for Senator Obama include former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, Virginia Senator Jim Webb, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Senator Joe Biden. (ANI)