The former Democratic presidential rivals, senators Hillary Clinton (N.Y) and Barack Obama (Ill.), held a rally Friday in Unity, New Hampshire - a town where both senators got the same number of votes during primaries.

Appearing together for the first time since Sen. Obama was declared the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the two senators stood side by side to greet a crowd of 1,700 people.

"Today we are coming together for the same goal- to elect Obama as the next president of the United States," Sen. Clinton said. "We have gone toe-to-toe and it was a hard fight, but today we stand shoulder-to-shoulder for ideas we share."

The one-time rivals agreed that the country desperately needs change, and appealed to Democrats and independents not to elect Sen. John McCain, who, Sen. Clinton said, offers four more years of Bush presidency.

Affordable housing, tax breaks for working families and a promise to bring U.S. troops home drew enthusiastic applause from the audience.

"It?s time to bring this war to a close," Sen. Obama said to his supporters. "That's what I will do when I am president of the United States."