WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama earned more support from party leaders and won praise from former rival John Edwards on Friday as he gathered momentum in his drive to the U.S. presidential nomination.

Edwards, who dropped his presidential bid in January, said Obama could unite the Democratic Party after a bruising nominating battle with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and beat Republican John McCain in November's election.

"What he brings to the table is the capacity, number one, to unite the Democratic Party," Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, told NBC's "Today" show.

"Number two, to bring in new voters, to bring in people who haven't been involved in the process over a long time and to get people excited about this change."

Obama, an Illinois senator, picked up the backing of two more superdelegates, U.S. Reps. Donald Payne of New Jersey and Peter DeFazio of Oregon. Payne had been a Clinton supporter.

Clinton won another superdelegate endorsement from U.S. Rep. Chris Carney of Pennsylvania.

The courting of nearly 800 superdelegates -- party and elected officials who are free to back any candidate -- has become critical with neither candidate likely to clinch the nomination at the August convention with the support of pledged delegates alone.

Pledged delegates represent the votes the candidates receive in the state-by-state nominating contests that began in January and end in June.

CLINTON VOW

With just 217 pledged delegates at stake in the final six contests, Clinton has no realistic chance of overtaking Obama's lead in pledged delegates. His campaign believes he'll clinch a majority of those pledged delegates when Oregon and Kentucky vote on May 20.

Clinton has vowed to continue on until the voting concludes on June 3, but she and campaign aides have hinted she will step aside if it is clear that Obama will be the nominee.

An MSNBC count gives Obama 1,850 delegates to Clinton's 1,700 -- leaving him about 175 short of the 2,025 needed to clinch the nomination. More than 250 superdelegates remain undecided.

Obama has picked up eight more superdelegates since Tuesday, when his big North Carolina win and narrow Indiana loss widened his lead in the Democratic race.

Edwards, who as a candidate failed to match the star power and fund-raising ability of Clinton or Obama, declined to endorse Obama on Friday, saying the value of endorsements was overrated.

Obama "has done pretty well without any endorsement from John Edwards," he said.

Sixteen members of Congress and Clinton backers from states that will be critical in November's election published a letter on Friday saying Clinton would be the strongest candidate to lead the party in swing districts like theirs.

Clinton has argued to superdelegates that she has the better chance of beating McCain in November and carrying big battleground states for the party.

(Additional reporting by Donna Smith; editing by Howard Goller)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http:/blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

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