Barack Obama seizes his moment in history

Barack Obama Wednesday passed through the gateway of history as a black man carrying his party’s standard into battle in November’s presidential election.

After a wave of pledges from super-delegates pushed him up to the “magic number” of delegates — 2,118 — needed for victory, he accepted the mantle of presumptive Democratic nominee at another huge rally in St Paul, Minnesota.

"Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end, " he declared.

Then, to a raucous ovation from 17,000 people inside the hall - and thousands more locked outside - he said: "I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States."

Hillary Clinton, his rival in an epic and often bitter struggle, was facing the end of her own historically charged effort to become America’s first woman president. Many of her staff have been told to stand down and await instructions. Some are reported to be searching for new jobs.

Even as voters cast their ballots in South Dakota and Montana, the final primaries of their marathon 16-month battle, Democratic power brokers had effectively sealed the contest by lining up behind Mr Obama. When polls closed, more than two dozen announced their backing for him.

Mrs Clinton began her speech in New York by congratulating Mr Obama on the campaign he had run, adding: "It has been an honour to contest these primaries with him, just as it is an honour to call him my friend.”

But she stopped short of conceding defeat. "This has been a long campaign," she said, "and I will be making no decisions tonight." Instead, she promised to spend the coming days consulting with the Democratic leadership "to determine how we move forward" while being guided by the best interests of the party.

Earlier, Mrs Clinton had acknowledged for the first time that she would consider the consolation prize of the vice-presidential slot on Mr Obama’s ticket. In a telephone call with the New York Congressional delegation, she said that she was “open” to the idea, adding: “I’ll do whatever I can to help us win.”

And, in her speech at Baruch College, New York, she teased her audience, saying: "I understand that a lot of people are asking, What does Hillary want? What does she want? Well, I want what I have always fought for in this campaign. I want to end this war in Iraq, I want to turn this economy around, I want health care for every American...and I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and to no longer be invisible.”

This last remark will be seen as an attempt to use her vast support - by some counts of the popular vote, more than that of Mr Obama - as leverage for the vice-presidential nomination.

Mr Obama’s campaign is thought to be deeply sceptical about the prospect of having Mrs Clinton and her husband in the White House, where they could become a focal point for division and taint his promised new brand of politics. Aides expressed irritation that they were even having to think about her on thier victory night.

But Mr Obama is, however, also aware that during an extraordinary Democratic primary where he and Mrs Clinton have raised record sums, attracted unprecedented numbers of votes and fought the tightest contest in living memory, divisions have opened in the party which he must act soon to heal.

Last Tuesday he poured praise on his rival, saying he was a "better candidate for having had the honour to compete" with her as he made passing references to "our differences over the last 16 months".

He added: "Senator 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."

But Mr Obama also, perhaps, hinted she may remain in the Senate, pushing through legislation on an issue particularly close to her heart. "You can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory," he said.

Mr Obama had begun the final day of the primary campaign about forty delegates short of the threshold needed to secure the nomination.

Democratic leaders who had - officially - stayed on the sidelines, including James Clyburn, the House of Representatives Majority Whip and the most senior African-American on Capitol Hill, led an early wave of endorsements for Mr Obama.

Jimmy Carter, the former President, was among those super-delegates promising his support once polls had closed in the final two states.

The results from South Dakota and Montana appeared almost irrelevant as it became clear that, even if Mr Obama lost both primaries by a wide margin, he had amassed enough super-delegates in the day to take him over the finishing line.

But Mrs Clinton's victory in South Dakota - a surprise given Mr Obama's superior organisation in the state and his backing from local politicians - underlined how she has had the stronger finish of the two candidates in the past three months.

Aides said that Mrs Clinton had “earned the right” to be given time and space to make her decision on what to do next. After spending much of yesterday shuttered away at her home with her husband in Chappaqua, New York, she may choose to suspend her campaign rather than formally withdraw from the race. This would give her time to clear debts of more than $20 million, but also scope to negotiate a deal with Mr Obama.

Mr Obama chose to stage his rally at the Xcel Energy Centre in St Paul, Minnesota — the site of the Republican convention in September. He pointedly promised his campaign "would not use religion as a wedge or patriotism as a bludgeon".

But, after weeks in which John McCain has repeatedly attacked him on foreign policy, Mr Obama showed a bit of claw himself in his St Paul speech, saying he respected the Republican nominee-in-waiting's long service to the country and his many accomplishments, "even if he chooses to deny mine".

He added, that for all Mr McCain's boasts about frequent trips to Iraq, "maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy – cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and here in Minnesota – he’d understand the kind of change that people are looking for".

He ended, with a characteristic flourish, saying: "America, this is our moment.

This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love."

Mr McCain travelled to New Orleans last night to launch his own general election campaign. In a speech praising Mrs Clinton for her “tenacity and courage”, he acknowledged Mr Obama as his rival for the White House, but poured scorn on his foreign policy and views on the Iraq war.

"You will hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I'm running for President Bush's third term," he said.

"Why does Senator Obama believe it's so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it's very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false. The American people didn't get to know me yesterday as they are just getting to know Senator Obama."

The small crowd and dowdy backdrop at McCain's event was in sharp contrast to the huge and adulatory audience that greeted Mr Obama in St Paul. But the former Vietnam PoW has long since eschewed such glitz.

"I don't seek the presidency on the presumption I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need," he said.

"I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me."

- Timesonline, UK

Who is Barack Obama?

Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (born August4,1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election. He is the first African American to be the presumptive presidential nominee of any major American political party.

A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School , Obama worked as a community organizer , university professor,political activist, and lawyer before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for U.S.Senate in January 2003.

After winning a landslide primary victory in March 2004 to become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress he cosponsored legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds.

He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In

the current 110th Congress ,he has sponsored legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud , climate change ,nuclear terrorism , and care for returned U.S. military personnel.

Since announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraqwar ,increasing energy independence , decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and providing universal health care as top national priorities.

Courtesy: Wikipedia