There was no more dedicated supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton during the presidential primaries than U.S. Rep. James McGovern.

McGovern, D-Worcester, traveled the country campaigning for Clinton. He stuck with her even after it became evident that Sen. Barack Obama was going to win the Democratic nomination for president.

After Clinton's rousing speech before the Democratic National Convention in Denver Tuesday night, McGovern said Clinton reminded him all over again why he thought she would have made a great president.

"I think you saw why so many of us were so passionate about her," he said.

Clinton called for the party to join her in working for Obama's election, saying the country cannot afford four more years of a Republican in the White House. Electing Republican Sen. John McCain will undo all that she has worked for all her life, Clinton said.

McGovern watched the speech from a private box with former President Bill Clinton, the senator's husband.

"It was spectacular," he said of the nationally televised address. "She was unbelievable. She was generous, she was classy and just unbelievable."

McGovern said he is "absolutely an Obama supporter" now that he has won the nomination, but he will still vote for Clinton if there is a roll call on the floor of the convention.

"I'm a Clinton delegate. I think I owe her that vote," he said.

He said a vote for Clinton should not be taken as a sign that the Democratic party is divided, saying he attended a party unity rally in Worcester and will campaign for Obama in New Hampshire.

Other Democrats said they, too, believe the party has come together under Obama.

Angus McQuilken, a former candidate for state Senate in the Attleboro area who is volunteering at the convention, said the media has made too much of reports of a rift between Clinton and Obama supporters.

"I think that has been overblown. To some extent in politics, what gets coverage is the potential for conflict, even if it is not there. It will be clear after the convention that there is unity," he said.

Interviewed before Clinton spoke, McQuilken said he was a strong Clinton supporter during the primaries but is now "100 percent, four-square behind Obama." Democratic activists who did not attend the convention said it was imperative that the party come together to defeat McCain in November.

"Any division will hurt the party," James McKenna of North Attleboro said. "I hope the Clinton people realize that."

Ed O'Reilly, a candidate for U.S. Senate who campaigned in North Attleboro Monday, was in the minority in saying a divided convention would not be fatal.

"I think there are a lot of Hillary supporters who are less than enthused about Obama," he said.

McQuilken, who also worked at the Democratic convention in Boston in 2004, said there is a greater sense or urgency this time in the party about defeating the Republicans.

"There is a lot of energy in this city. I think at this convention there is an enormous feeling that the country is ready for change," he said.

Before Clinton took the stage, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick addressed the convention.

He said a Barack Obama presidency would begin the task of restoring the middle class, fixing the ailing economy and improving education, but he warned Democrats that change will not come easily.