Obama seals Democratic nomination; Clinton seeks VP slot

Wednesday 04th June, 09:10 AM JST

WASHINGTON —

Cheered by a roaring crowd, Sen Barack Obama of Illinois laid claim to the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night, taking a historic step toward his once-improbable goal of becoming the nation’s first black president. Hillary Rodham Clinton maneuvered for the vice presidential spot on his fall ticket without conceding her own defeat.

“America, this is our moment,” the 46-year-old senator and one-time community organizer said in his first appearance as the Democratic nominee-in-waiting. “This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past.”

Clinton praised Obama warmly in an appearance before supporters in New York, although she neither acknowledged his victory in their grueling marathon nor offered a concession of any sort.

Instead, she said she was committed to a unified party, and said she would spend the next few days determining “how to move forward with the best interests of our country and our party guiding my way.”

Obama’s victory set up a five-month campaign with Republican Sen John McCain of Arizona, a race between a first-term Senate opponent of the Iraq War and a 71-year-old Vietnam prisoner of war and staunch supporter of the current U.S. military mission.

And both men seemed eager to begin.

McCain spoke first, in New Orleans, and he accused his younger rival of voting “to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job” in Iraq.” Americans, he added, should be concerned about the judgment of a presidential candidate who has not traveled to Iraq yet “says he’s ready to talk, in person and without conditions, with tyrants from Havana to Pyongyang.”

McCain agreed with Obama that the presidential race would focus on change. “But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change, between going forward and going backward,” he said.

Obama responded quickly, pausing in his own speech long enough to praise Clinton for “her strength, her courage and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.”

As for his general election rival, he said, “It’s not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush 95% of the time, as he did in the Senate last year. It’s not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs. ... And it’s not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave young men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians.”

In a symbolic move, Obama spoke in the same hall where McCain will accept the Republican nomination at his party’s convention in September. Campaign officials, citing the local fire marshal, put the crowd at 17,000 inside the eXcel Energy Center, plus another 15,000 outside.

McCain addressed a smaller crowd by design, an estimated 600 in his audience and another 600 outside.

One campaign began as another was ending.

Clinton won South Dakota on the final night of the primary season; Obama took Montana.

He later called Clinton to congratulate her on her victory. When she called back, Obama reiterated his offer to sit down at a time convenient for her, according to his spokesman, Robert Gibbs. He said there were no plans for a meeting on Wednesday.

Only 31 delegates were at stake in the two states on the night’s ballot, the final few among the thousands that once drew Obama, Clinton and six other Democratic candidates into the campaign to replace Bush and become the nation’s 44th president.

Obama sealed his nomination, according to The Associated Press tally, based on primary elections, state Democratic caucuses and support from party “superdelegates.” It takes 2,118 delegates to clinch the nomination at the convention in Denver this summer, and Obama had 2,154 by the AP count.

There were more on the way, including Sen Ben Cardin of Maryland, whom party officials said would make an endorsement on Wednesday.

Additionally, party leaders readied a statement urging uncommitted superdelegates in Congress and among the ranks of governors to state their preference by Friday. Several officials said that while they wanted to unify the party quickly, they were also determined not to appear to push Clinton out of the race, particularly since she will be returning to the Senate once her presidential bid is over.

Obama, a first-term senator who was virtually unknown on the national stage four years ago, defeated Clinton, the former first lady and one-time campaign front-runner, in a 17-month marathon for the Democratic nomination.

His victory had been widely assumed for weeks. But Clinton’s declaration of interest in becoming his ticketmate was wholly unexpected.

She expressed it in a conference call with her state’s congressional delegation after Rep. Nydia Velazquez, predicted Obama would have great difficulty winning the support of Hispanics and other voting blocs unless the former first lady was on the ticket.

“I am open to it” if it would help the party’s prospects in November, Clinton replied, according to participants who spoke on condition of anonymity because the call was private.

Clinton’s comments raised anew the prospect of what many Democrats have called a “Dream Ticket” that would put a black man and a woman on the same ballot, but Obama’s aides were noncommittal. “We’re not in the presidential phase here. We’re going to close out the nominating fight and then we’ll consider that,” David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist, told reporters aboard the candidate’s plane en route to Minnesota.

McCain’s criticism of Obama referred to a vote last year in which the Illinois senator came out against legislation paying for the Iraq war because it did not include a timetable for withdrawing troops. At the time, Obama said the funding would give President Bush “a blank check to continue down this same, disastrous path.”

Obama previously had opposed a deadline for troop withdrawal, but shifted position under pressure from the Democratic Party’s liberal wing as he maneuvered for support in advance of the primaries.

Bill Burton, a spokesman for Obama, responded tartly. “While John McCain has a record of occasional independence from his party in the past, last year he chose to embrace 95% of George Bush’s agenda, including his failed economic policies and his failed policy in Iraq. No matter how hard he tries to spin it otherwise, that kind of record is simply not the change the American people are looking for or deserve.”

The young Illinois senator’s success amounted to a victory of hope over experience, earned across an enervating 56 primaries and caucuses that tested the political skills and human endurance of all involved.

Obama stood for change. Clinton was the candidate of experience, ready, she said, to serve in the Oval Office from Day One.

Together, they drew record turnouts in primary after primary — more than 34 million voters in all, independents and Republicans as well as Democrats.

Yet the race between a black man and a woman exposed deep racial and gender divisions within the party.

Obama drew strength from blacks, and from the younger, more liberal and wealthier voters in many states. Clinton was preferred by older, more downscale voters, and women, of course.

Personality issues rose and receded through the campaign:

Clinton’s husband, the former president, campaigned tirelessly for her but sometimes became an issue himself, to her detriment.

And Obama struggled to minimize the damage caused by the incendiary rhetoric of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an issue likely to be raised anew by Republicans in the fall campaign.

Obama’s triumph was fashioned on prodigious fund-raising, meticulous organizing and his theme of change aimed at an electorate opposed to the Iraq war and worried about the economy — all harnessed to his own gifts as an inspirational speaker.

With her husband’s two White House terms as a backdrop, Clinton campaigned for months as the candidate of experience, a former first lady and second-term senator ready to be commander in chief.

But after a year on the campaign trail, Obama won the kickoff Iowa caucuses on Jan 3, and the freshman senator became a political phenomenon.

“We came together as Democrats, as Republicans and independents, to stand up and say we are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come,” he said that night of victory in Des Moines.

As the strongest female presidential candidate in history, Clinton drew large, enthusiastic audiences. Yet Obama’s were bigger. One audience, in Dallas, famously cheered when he blew his nose on stage; a crowd of 75,000 turned out in Portland, Ore., the weekend before the state’s May 20 primary.

The former first lady countered Obama’s Iowa victory with an upset five days later in New Hampshire that set the stage for a campaign marathon as competitive as any in the past generation.

“Over the last week I listened to you, and in the process I found my own voice,” she told supporters who had saved her candidacy from an early demise.

In defeat, Obama’s aides concluded they had committed a cardinal sin of New Hampshire politics, forsaking small, intimate events in favor of speeches to large audiences inviting them to ratify Iowa’s choice.

It was not a mistake they made again — which helped explain Obama’s later outings to bowling alleys, backyard basketball courts and American Legion halls in the heartland.

Clinton conceded nothing, memorably knocking back a shot of Crown Royal whiskey at a bar in Indiana, recalling that her grandfather had taught her to use a shotgun, and driving in a pickup to a gas station in South Bend, Ind., to emphasize her support for a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax.

As other rivals fell away in winter, Obama and Clinton traded victories on Super Tuesday, the Feb. 5 series of primaries and caucuses across 21 states and American Samoa that once seemed likely to settle the nomination.

But Clinton had a problem that Obama exploited, and he scored a coup she could not answer.

Pressed for cash, the former first lady ran noncompetitive campaigns in several Super Tuesday caucus states, allowing her rival to run up his delegate totals.

At the same time, Sen Edward M Kennedy, D-Mass, endorsed the young senator in terms that summoned memories of his slain brothers while seeking to turn the page on the Clinton era.

Merely by surviving Super Tuesday, Obama exceeded expectations. But he did more than survive, emerging with a lead in delegates that he never relinquished, and he proceeded to run off a string of 11 straight victories.

Clinton saved her candidacy once more with primary victories in Ohio and Texas on March 4, beginning a stretch in which she won in six of the next nine states on the calendar, as well as in Puerto Rico.

It was a strong run, providing glimpses of what might have been for the one-time front-runner.

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Latest 15 of 125 Total Comments Show All

toguro at 11:07 PM JST - 5th June

"Had the DNC not robbed hillary of her Michigan delegates and gave more than half of those delegates in a state which the empty suit voluntarily withdrew his name from the ballot, obama would not be where it is now at with the "magic" number. The DNC proved to the American electorate that the voters don't count."

RomeoRamenll:
I understand what you are saying, but Hillary brought that on herself, because she along with all of the other Democratic contenders, signed agreements to uphold the DNC's ruling on how to punish Florida, and Michigan, so now she see's that the tide would turn in her favor if their votes counted, so surprisingly, or not so, she flip flopped on the issue. How typical.
shimajiro at 06:19 AM JST - 6th June

Congrats to Mr. Obama. He's run a smart primary campaign, culminating in one of the biggest upsets in recent U.S. political memory. He had help from the Clinton's misteps and fawning media coverage, of course, but he's an attractive figure. Certainly, that the next president will be neither a Bush nor a Clinton.

Obama's resume is pretty thin for a presidential aspirant but his personal story is inspiring and he's bright, young, handsome and charming. Surprising to some both in- and outside the U.S. his race has been a political asset.

Even if the political environment seems to favor a generic Democrat this election year, much less a Messiah figure, McCain can be heartened by Barak's underdog story.
yabits at 08:09 AM JST - 6th June

RomeoRamenII:

Remember last cycle the pollsters had John Kerry winning by a landslide.

Some people just don't have a very good memory. (Must be all that bitterness and hatred.) The link below shows the USA Today/Gallup poll for the 2004 race from the time of the convention to election day.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/polls/index.html

At no time was Kerry predicted to win in a landslide, by ANY pollster of any repute. I do recall that in Election 2000, the old gasbag himself, Rush Limbaugh, predicted a Bush landslide over Gore.
yabits at 08:24 AM JST - 6th June

RomeoRamenII:

A one-seat majority in the Senate is hardly a "thumping". But if thinking so makes you sleep better at night, feel free to do so.

LOL!! From a 4-gain in 2004 to a 6-seat loss in 2006. (With only a third of the Senate seats up for grabs.) That's a pretty resounding turnaround. You'd call it a thumping too if the shoes were on the other feet.

The economy is near recession and the price of gasoline is nearly $4 a gallon. If you don't think the voters are going to have their say at the ballot box this November over what the democrats have done to the country, you are only fooling yourself.

LOL!!! What drugs are you taking that make you so delusional? The prime mortgage mess and ensuing credit crunch was a time bomb ticking long before the Democrats regained control, and intelligent people understand that. Nothing gets out of Congress until Bush signs it into law. He's got the power to veto and the Dems can't override. So what you're really saying is that it's Bush's fault.
Blue_Tiger at 11:52 PM JST - 6th June

Hilary won't take second billing to anybody, not even her husband. Obama will pick someone else, and Hilary will bide her time until 2012....
SezWho2 at 08:59 AM JST - 7th June

RedMeatKoolAid,

Presumably Obama has looked at "experience" and seen it for what it's worth. Most likely he did not lie. Most likely he no longer saw lack of this "experience" thing to be a detriment to running.

It doesn't take experience to be President. In fact, there is no experience that is equivalent to that of being President. It takes intelligence, good judgment and an ability to cobble together political support.

Obama is obviously intelligent. In beating Hillary he has certainly shown that he can muster political power. The jury may be out on his judgment, but personally I would feel better with a President who had voted not to give another President the power to make war at his personal whim and one who believes its better to jaw-jaw than war-war.
medievaltimes at 12:59 AM JST - 8th June

Im not going to say who I am for or against in the upcoming elections. However, I will say the fact that there are so many people willing to take the time to post about it on a site like japantoday is great. If people didnt really care they wouldnt post. US politics are headed in a historic direction no matter who gets elected. Exciting times indeed.
zurcronium at 09:01 AM JST - 8th June

two words:

President Obama
Sarge at 09:25 AM JST - 8th June

Two words for zurcronium - Dream on. ( tee hee! )

medievaltimes - "I'm not going to say who I am for or against"

Gosh, if everyone did that, this would be a real snoozefest. ( tee-hee! )
zurcronium at 06:48 PM JST - 8th June

sarge,

given your stellar record of failing every prediction you have made in the last six years your useless taunting is like yesterdays losing lotto ticket.

Try predicting the opposite of what you first want to happen. That would work very well.

Oh year, those WMD in Iraq. Still not there. And Fred Thompson, not a candidate anymore.
CONTRARY at 01:13 PM JST - 9th June

This "senior citizen"...a newcomer to the board, a citizen of the USA, and one who VOTES, has seen things dispicable to BOTH political parties. Yet, I've never seen anything MORE dispicable than the way the Republican party has systematically tried to gut the heart of the USA by ignoring and or flagrantly violating the foundation document, the Constitution of the United States. Previously, I'd always voted indepently, but the last eight years (starting with a highly questionable election to begin with) have turned me into a pure "Yellow Dog Democrat". I wouldn't vote for a Republican to be elected to clean out clogged up toilets without any tools. In my opinion, even as a Democrat...Hillary is a L O S E R! Add the baggage of hubby and it's dumb to even consider her for a VP slot. McCain? An aging, and obviously infirm candidate who has the distinction of dumping his crippled first wife, (who stood by him when he was a POW in Vietnam) for a booze baron's daughter. If American's are SO stupid as to want (much less ELECT) someone who supported the current regime's idiotic policies, then they DESERVE what they get. Haha, being an "ex-pat" in Japan isn't bad at all.
Breagle at 01:29 PM JST - 9th June

obama should pick wes clarke
zurcronium at 07:24 PM JST - 9th June

no hillary, too much baggage. Richardson is the sane choice. Clarke is a zero when it comes to campaigning. His run for the nomination last time was a joke. Maybe a cabinent position would be better for him.
Damax6 at 11:07 PM JST - 9th June

Obama will pick Colin or who knows.. Condelezza.... Hillary needs to SIT down. She wants now the rules to change. the rules were inplace and agreed upon before both elections, what is she trying to do????? a George Bush back in 2000.... rememeber Florida, his brother JEB and that, whats her face chick down there who stole and threw away people`s votes....i dont wanna say it, but if she get a VP slot. Obama needs to watch his back, it wont surprise me at any attempts on his life if they win. She is ICHING for the Prez spot
DanManjt at 04:14 PM JST - 10th June

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