a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight. We’ve certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. … When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.â€
After the DNC’s rules committee dashed Sen. Hillary Clinton’s hopes last weekend of overcoming him in the delegate count, and with it any argument she could make to convince superdelegates that she was the most electable, they began throwing their support to Obama.
Majority whip Rep. James Clyburn, third in the House leadership line and its most powerful African American lawmaker, broke his pledge to not endorse either candidate until the final primary vote had been cast, and spent the last couple of days coalescing support for Obama. He formally endorsed the Illinois senator during the Tuesday morning talk shows.
“Recent surveys indicate that Sen. Obama is by far the most preferred candidate among Democrats and independents, and I believe he is the most electable candidate that Democrats can offer. He will be able to dramatically change the electoral map for Democrats, which will in turn expand our majorities here in Congress, and help elect more Democrats at the state and local levels,†said Clyburn. “Furthermore, I believe Sen. Obama is the Democrat who can unite our people, help heal our nation’s wounds, improve our standing on the world stage, and steer our country in a new direction.â€
‘Dream Ticket’
Clyburn also cited a more sentimental reason for his endorsement during a conference call with reporters, explaining that the Democratic vice presidential nominee will be introduced to the nation on the eve of the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, and Obama, the party’s presidential nominee, will formally accept his nomination on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream†speech. “That, to me, is history worth living for,†he said.
Clinton chose a site closer to home to conclude the primary season. And despite the night’s outcome, she has not yet conceded the race. “Now the question is, where do we go from here, and given how far we’ve come and where we need to go as a party, it’s a question I don’t take lightly. This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight. But this has always been your campaign, so to the 18 million people who voted for me and to our many other supporters out there of all ages, I want to hear from you. I hope you’ll go to my website at HillaryClinton.com and share your thoughts with me and help in any way that you can,†she said. “In the coming days, I’ll be consulting with supporters and party leaders to determine