Barack Obama Will Be the Democratic Candidate

After the last primaries, Barack Obama has enough delegates to claim the nomination. But Hillary Clinton still is not acknowledging her defeat.

On Tuesday Barack Obama became the first Black to have a chance to win the White House. The Senator from Illinois effectively mathematically won the Democratic nomination for the November Presidential election in the US. But Hillary Clinton, having won South Dakota, refused to admit defeat, indicating that she would “not make any decisions tonight.”

“Tonight, I can say here and now that I will be the Democratic candidate for the American Presidential election,” Barack Obama asserted to thousands of happy supporters who were reunited in a stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the conclusion of a long campaign which remained uncertain for a very long time.

“America, it is our hour,” continued the man who became the first Black to represent his party in the Presidential elections. “Our time has come. Our turn to turn the page from the politics of the past.”

During the day on Tuesday, Barack Obama found new supporters. He had already picked up 11.5 superdelegates (some only had half votes) among whom was South Carolina representative James Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in Congress.

Barack Obama had at his disposal 2,151 delegates (including the superdelegates), many more than the 2,118 required for the nomination, against 1,915.5 for Hillary Clinton, according to an AP count after partial results were counted on Tuesday. The Illinois Senator took at least 15 delegates in South Dakota and Montana, while his rival would get at least 13. Three other delegates from Montana would be shared between the two candidates.

OBAMA’S VICTORY SPEECH:

The greater part of Obama’s speech was dedicated to an attack against John McCain, his Republican adversary, whom he accused of wanting to continue the politics of George W. Bush. “It is time to turn the page on the politics of the past,” he said.

A POSSIBLE PRESIDENTIAL TICKET

“Let’s start to work together,” said Obama to the crowd assembled around him on Tuesday. “Let us unify in a common effort to design a new route for America.” Making a concerted effort to give hommage to Hillary Clinton, he assured that the Democratic party would be united in November. “Senator Clinton made history during this campaign (…) Our party and our country are better because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor of campaigning against Hillary Rodham Clinton,” he said over the applause.

Speculation quickly mounted on Tuesday about a possible presidential ticket involving both of the rivals, since Hillary Clinton seemed to be ready to present herself for the Vice Presidency during the evening. Barack Obama’s staff remained vague nonetheless. “It’s clear that she is an incredible person. We already knew that,” remarked David Axelrod, strategy head of the Illinois Senator’s campaign. But “it is much to early to talk about that.”

In a meeting in New York, the former First Lady refused to admit her defeat. “The campaign was long, and I will not make any decision tonight,” she proclaimed to her supporters, saying that she would spend the next few days deciding “how to advance the interests of our party and our country.” But “I am determined to unite our party so that we can advance strongely and I am more ready than ever to win the White House in November,” she added.

A bit earlier on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton told New York politicians that she would be ready to be Barack Obama’s Vice Presidential running mate, affirming that she was “open to this” if it would help Democrats to win the White House.

CONGRATULATIONS FROM GEORGE W. BUSH

Wednesday, President Bush congratulated the Senator for having become the first Black of a major party to become a candidate for the White House, stating that this showed that the United States “had evolved greatly.” As for his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, herself a Black, she said that the fact that Barack Obama became the first Black party candidate for the American presidency shows that the United States is “an extraordinary country.”