Obama Secures Enough Delegates for Nomination

Following 17 months of a hard-fought contest that may go down in the history books as one of the longest and most competitive presidential primary battles between two truly formidable politicians, Sen. Barack Obama became the headline of an even more momentous chapter in the nation’s history by becoming its first African American nominee for the U.S. presidency. His win came down to the wire, but he has given new meaning to the idea that in America anything is possible.

In the final two primaries that took place Tuesday night in Montana and South Dakota, Obama won Montana by a margin of 57 to 40. And in a surprise victory, Sen. Hillary Clinton won South Dakota by 55 to 45.

Obama won at least 13 delegates in South Dakota and Montana, while Clinton won at least eight. There were still two delegates still to be allocated in South Dakota and eight in Montana, according to the Associated Press. Overall, Obama has 2,144 delegates, including endorsements from party and elected officials known as superdelegates. Clinton has 1,919.5, according to the AP tally.

Obama for weeks had been presumed to be the Democratic nominee, but up until Tuesday’s primaries, he still had one major hurdle to conquer– gaining the endorsements of enough pledged and unpledged, or super, delegates — that would bring him to the magic number of 2118, which seemingly changed from month to month, depending on who was making the calculation. Throughout the day, his campaign Web site maintained a delegate countdown.

Obama chose to celebrate his win in St. Paul, MN., the city where the Republican Party will hold its national convention this summer. “It’s clear he wants to signal his determination to take the fight to [the Republican nominee] Sen. John McCain, not simply to defend traditional Democratic states and areas, but to compete with McCain across the country,” explains William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Minnesota in recent elections has also been a very closely contested state. I think it’s a good tactical move on Obama’s part and sends a signal to the upper Midwest that it really matters.”

But for this one night, he chose to be more like the diplomat he hopes to present to the world’s stage. “At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better. They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come,” said Obama.

“That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Sen. Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she’s a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she’s 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.”

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.”

‘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 how to move forward with the best interests of our party and our country guiding my way.”

Before Clinton’s final primary rally, Clinton supporter, Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee predicted there would be no concession Tuesday night. Though she added that it isn’t for her to say, Jackson Lee thinks a dream ticket of Clinton and-Obama (or Obama-Clinton) “would be welcomed by many.”

California Rep. Maxine Waters, however, decided she’d rather switch than continue in Clinton’s battle for the nomination. “Throughout this primary election, I have witnessed two extraordinary candidates champion the concerns that matter most to the American people. As an outspoken advocate on issues critical to women and children, I have great admiration for Senator Clinton and know first-hand her commitment to our country,” she said. “However, our nation is at crossroads. Now is the time for us to unite so that real change is possible in November. Today, I am endorsing Sen. Barack Obama because I firmly believe that he embodies the judgment and conviction necessary to bring about change that will make a difference in the lives of all Americans.”

Pledging Unity

So now it’s time for Obama to begin making good on the Democratic Party’s call for unity. How does he do it? Anthony Corrado, a Brookings Institution fellow and Colby College

professor, says Obama must follow Clinton’s lead. “The first steps are just going to be treating Clinton with the respect she deserves for the work she’s done and having them work out between themselves how they’re going to move forward,” he says. According to news reports, Clinton has indicated she wants to meet face-to-face with Obama to discuss just that.

Could Jackson Lee’s “dream ticket” be the answer? Not according to San Francisco State political scientist Robert Smith. He says, “The calculation he has to make is whether that’s what’s necessary to win. I doubt it is because it’s probably a little too much for the American electorate to have two firsts of that sort–
a woman and a black. His weakness is in the national security area and he needs to pick someone who will give voters confidence in that area.”

In the meantime, the general election battle between McCain and Obama is definitely on. In remarks from New Orleans on Tuesday night, McCain swung at his Democratic opponent on issues ranging from the economy to the war in Iraq.

“Both Senator Obama and I promise we will end Washington’s stagnant, unproductive partisanship. But one of us has a record of working to do that and one of us doesn’t. He is an impressive man, who makes a great first impression. But he hasn’t been willing to make the tough calls; to challenge his party; to risk criticism from his supporters to bring real change to Washington. I have,” he said.

“The conventional wisdom is that each of these candidates is, relatively speaking, a moderate within his own party. Each campaign will try to convince the American people that the other candidate is not a moderate, but is in fact either an extreme conservative or an extreme liberal,” Galston explains.