PORTLAND – In spite of a 40-year friendship with former President Bill Clinton, Rep. Tom Allen threw his support behind Barack Obama today in the hotly contested Democratic race for president.

Allen, D-Maine, said at a press conference in Portland that the time has come for the Democratic Party to unite around Obama in his campaign against Hillary Clinton.

“Hillary Clinton is a phenomenal senator. She has been a terrific candidate,” Allen told reporters.

“And we’ve wound up with two exceptionally strong candidates – two people who are both supremely qualified to be president. But most of the primary and caucus voters have now spoken. And after Indiana and North Carolina, I became convinced that Barack Obama will become the nominee. And as I’ve said, I think that decision should be moved along.”

Allen is one of the so-called super delegates who have wound up playing a crucial role in the Democratic race.

Obama recently passed Clinton in support from super delegates, and Allen’s announcement widened that lead.

Allen described his decision as a difficult one. He has known Bill Clinton since they were both Rhodes Scholars at Oxford University in England.

“He was 22, I was 23,” Allen said. “He’s been a friend of mine ever since then. I helped to create and run the Clinton campaign in Maine.”

Allen said that he has left messages about his decision with both Bill and Hillary Clinton, but has not spoken with either of them. He said that he has spoken to members of the Clinton campaign team.

Allen emphasized that he is not saying that Clinton should drop out of the race.

“I am not suggesting what Hillary Clinton should do with her campaign. I have enormous respect for her, and only she can make that decision,” he said. “What I believe is important is that on both sides there is respect and fairness, and that we find a way to have a graceful end to this primary campaign.”

Allen said that his decision to support Obama was based on three factors: the vote in Maine, where Obama won; the vote nationally, where Obama leads; and his belief about who has the best chance to be elected president in November.

“All three of those have now come together in my opinion and point toward Barack Obama as the next president of the United States,” Allen said.

Allen, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, is in the midst of a U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

He did not offer an opinion on whether having Obama on the ticket would be more helpful in his own race than if Clinton were the Democratic nominee. But Allen said that a Democratic majority in the Senate will be necessary to support Obama’s agenda.

“People in Maine and across the country are hungry for change,” Allen said.

He later added: “And if we don’t have that working majority in the United States Senate, then he will be crippled in his ability to do what the American people want and need.”