A winner is Obama

[Roofus]

Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, citing its tally of convention delegates. He would become the first black candidate ever to lead a major U.S. party into a fall campaign for the White House.

NBC News has been maintaining its own tally, which stood at Obama being 30.5 delegates short of the 2,118 needed.

The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.

Two sources with the Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign earlier Tuesday said she will acknowledge that Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.

After the report, her campaign promptly issued a statement saying, "Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening."

But the statement did not say Clinton wouldn't acknowledge Obama's delegate count, a move that would effectively end her bid to be the nation's first female president.

The AP report, which cited two campaign sources, said the former first lady would stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City, but that for all intents and purposes the campaign was over.

Harold Ickes, a top campaign official, said that Clinton would not drop out of the race. Asked on MSNBC what she would say if, after primaries Tuesday in Montana and South Dakota, Obama had enough delegates to clinch the nomination, he replied: "She will say what she will say when she says it."

Earlier on the TODAY show, Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said Tuesday that once Obama gets the majority of convention delegates, "I think Hillary Clinton will congratulate him and call him the nominee."

The outcome could come by the end of the day with some choreography by the party's superdelegates. The party insiders were lining up behind Obama at a rate that could seal the nomination once results are in from Montana and South Dakota — or even before.

Clinton, once seen as a sure bet in her historic quest to become the first female president, was still pressing the superdelegates to support her fading candidacy. But McAuliffe indicated she was not inclined to drag out a dispute over delegates from the unsanctioned Michigan primary despite feeling shortchanged by a weekend compromise by the party's rules committee that she could still appeal to a higher level.

"I don't think she's going to go to the credentials committee," he said on NBC's "Today" show. Taking the matter to that committee would essentially extend the dispute into the convention and deny Democrats the unity they sorely want to achieve against Republican John McCain.

However, the campaign was upset that the AP report came out as voters were still going to the polls.

Meantime, seeing the cards fall into place for his November rival, McCain planned a prime time speech Tuesday night in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner, La., in what is essentially a kickoff of the fall campaign.

On Tuesday, House Majority Whip and unpledged delegate James Clyburn told the TODAY show that he was throwing his support behind Obama.

"I believe the nomination of Senator Obama is our party's best chance for victory in November, and our nation's best hope for much needed change," the South Carolina representative said.

"Once the last votes are cast, then it's in everybody's interest to resolve this quickly so we can pivot," he added.

Obama has said there were a lot of superdelegates who have been private supporters of his but wanted to respect the process by not endorsing until the final primaries were done.

"We're still working the phones and we're still talking to people ... so we'll certainly have to wait until a little later tonight to see what the final tally is, but we certainly feel good waking up this morning," Robert Gibbs, Obama's spokesman, told CNN on Tuesday.

In a defiant shot across the GOP bow, Obama, who returned to hometown Chicago late Monday, planned to hold his wrap-up rally in St. Paul, Minn., at the arena that will be the site of the Republican National Convention in September.

Clinton returned to New York, the state she represents in the Senate, planning an end-of-primary evening rally in Manhattan after a grueling campaign finale as she pushed through South Dakota on Monday.

"I'm just very grateful we kept this campaign going until South Dakota would have the last word," she said at a restaurant in Rapid City in one of her final campaign stops. Polls suggested Obama would win both South Dakota and Montana.

She still sounded buoyant. Her biggest booster and most tireless campaigner, husband Bill Clinton, didn't. "This may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," the former president said somberly as he stumped for her in South Dakota.

Ahead of Tuesday's concluding primaries, Obama sought to set the stage for reconciliation, praising Clinton's endurance and determination and offering to meet with her — on her terms — "once the dust settles" from their race.

"The sooner we can bring the party together, the sooner we can start focusing on McCain in November," Obama told reporters in Michigan. He said he spoke with Clinton on Sunday when he called to congratulate her on winning the Puerto Rico primary, most likely her last hurrah.

That fueled speculation for a "dream ticket" in which Clinton would become Obama's running mate — but neither camp was suggesting that was much of a possibility.

In the AP interview, Obama was asked when he would start looking for a running mate.

"The day after I have gotten that last delegate needed to officially claim the nomination, I'll start thinking about vice presidential nominees," he said. "It's a very important decision, and it's one where I'm going to have to take some time."

Clinton finished a whirlwind four days of campaigning that took her from New York to Puerto Rico to South Dakota and back. For a campaign pushing against long odds, it was a show of determination.

The former first lady, suffering from a recurrent cough, had to cede the microphone to her daughter Chelsea twice Monday as she struggled to recover her voice. Chelsea promptly took the opportunity — to discuss health care.

Link

[Stormwatch]

On the other hand, she will not say it until the time she says it.

[AgentGreen]

In other words, she's a leatherfaced bitch.

[butters]

Yay, so it's going to be person I dislike against person I dislike in the general election.

[Roofus]

Yay, so it's going to be person I dislike against person I dislike in the general election.

Why are you so racist?

[Stormwatch]

In other words, she's a leatherfaced bitch.

[Jeeba Jabba]

Clinton will quit and back Obama

[Specially Cork]

Yay, so it's going to be person I dislike against person I dislike in the general election.

That's why I stopped caring about democracy. It's fantastic in theory, but I was tired of being given a choice between a punch in the face or a kick in the balls.

[Prophet][]

its alwasy between a giant douch and turd sandwich.

[pavelbure]

Yay, so it's going to be person I dislike against person I dislike in the general election.

yeah basically. i'll probably sit this one out, unless mccain picks someone i like.

[butters]

Yay, so it's going to be person I dislike against person I dislike in the general election.

yeah basically. i'll probably sit this one out, unless mccain picks someone i like.

True. The McCain VP candidate is going to be important for me as well. The man is probably going to die from old age in office if he gets elected.

I've become increasingly conservative since I finished college, and I see little appeal in McCain. I want to see a troop withdrawal in Iraq at least to the point that it is in Korea now, but I think McCain will keep on fighting the war. Don't quote me on this since I don't follow politics, but I think good chunk of conservatives think it's time to get out of Iraq. IMO we're just prolonging the inevitable civil war that's going to happen between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the country.

[Ex-Cyber]

I don't mind Obama particularly, but I'm not eager to see the executive and legislative branches controlled by one party either. On the other hand, the Democrats don't seem to have overwhelming party loyalty, and Bush tilted the Supreme Court to the right a bit, so maybe it wouldn't be bad if the majority is small.

I want to see a troop withdrawal in Iraq at least to the point that it is in Korea now, but I think McCain will keep on fighting the war. Don't quote me on this since I don't follow politics, but I think good chunk of conservatives think it's time to get out of Iraq. IMO we're just prolonging the inevitable civil war that's going to happen between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the country.

I honestly don't see what a long-term occupation is supposed to accomplish; supporters seem to only have some weak reasons that "we can't leave". As far as I've heard, it seems like a civil war is already happening, but is called an "insurgency" here because our government has endorsed a faction. Maybe that's too cynical an outlook, but in any case it's not as though it's all peace and prosperity now.

[butters]

I honestly don't see what a long-term occupation is supposed to accomplish; supporters seem to only have some weak reasons that "we can't leave". As far as I've heard, it seems like a civil war is already happening, but is called an "insurgency" here because our government has endorsed a faction. Maybe that's too cynical an outlook, but in any case it's not as though it's all peace and prosperity now.

What I'm afraid is going to happen is the U.S. will step out of Iraq immediately followed by an invasion from Iran. The Iraqi military is too weak to counter such an assault.

[Jeeba Jabba]

Iran could never invade Iraq. They could influence (such as they've been doing for the past 5 years) by funding arms, and even set up a puppet regime much like we've done, but they could never openly invade Iraq. It would be suicide, especially with the nuclear tensions.