End of an historic primary. Beginning of another historic campaign.

And with this, my self-imposed political "vacation" comes to an end and the campaign to make Barack Obama our next President begins.

Hillary Clinton ends historic race, strongly endorses Barack Obama

WASHINGTON — Putting an end to her campaign to be the first woman president, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton today enthusiastically endorsed her rival, Sen. Barack Obama, praising his determination and calling on her supporters to fight for his election.

...

"Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been," Clinton said. "We have to work together. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure Sen. Obama is our next president. I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort."

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Repeatedly throughout the speech, the New York senator highlighted the historic nature of her candidacy, the strongest run for the nomination of a major party by a female candidate. Making a reference to her vote total over the course of the campaign, Clinton said she hoped that she had made "18 million" cracks in the glass ceiling preventing women from becoming president. And she said she hoped she had made the path to the presidency a little easier for the next female candidate for president.

"You can so be proud that from now on it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories," Clinton said. "Unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee. Unremarkable to think a woman could be president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends."

Clinton said that she would fight to lower barriers that women still faced.

"Like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there. I want to build an America that embraces the potential of every last one of us," she said.

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"We all know this has been a tough fight but the Democratic Party is a family," Clinton said in the speech. "Today our paths have merged."

Comments

[JB]

A PAID POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENT

BY SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL)

My fellow Americans,

As your future president I want to thank voters of all political stripes
for their mindless support, despite my complete lack of any legislative
achievement, my pastor's ties with Louis Farrakhan and Libyan dictator
Moamar Quadafi, and my blatantly liberal voting record while I present
myself as some sort of bipartisan agent of change.

I also like how my supporters claim my youthful drug use and criminal
behavior somehow qualifies me for the presidency after 8 years of claiming
Bush's youthful drinking disqualified him. Your hypocrisy and ignorance are
beacons of hope shining over a sea of political chicanery.

I would also like to thank the Kennedys for coming out in support of me.
There's a lot of glamour behind the Kennedy name, even though JFK started
the Vietnam War, his brother Robert illegally wiretapped Martin Luther King
Jr., they both slept with Marilyn Monroe, and Teddy's negligence caused the
drowning death of a young woman. Of course, I will have nothing to do with
the Kennedy cousins, especially
Michael Skakel.

And, I'd like to thank Oprah Winfrey for her support. Her love of
meaningless, empty platitudes has been an important media force that propels
me to the
White House.

Americans should vote for me, not because of my lack of experience or
achievement, but because I make people feel good. White people who vote for
me will get much needed relief from their burden of racist guilt.

I say things that sound meaningful but don't really mean anything because
Americans are tired of things having meaning. If things have meaning, then
that means you actually have to think about them, which takes far too much
effort.

Americans are tired of thinking. It's time to shut down the brain and open
up the emotion!

So when you go to vote in November, remember, don't think. As they say in
the Nike ad, Just do it!

And do it for me.

Thanking you in advance,

Barack

[Erzulie la Flambeau]

Courage Brings Change !!!

[Cristofer]

I am deeply sscoiuipus of this ad.The soundbites seem to be completely wrong for the ad. I realize there is a certain irony in the original, which juxtaposes we shall prevail with the throwing of the hammer. But in the original, the voice has an obviously evil quality to it. These soundbites are Hillary's explicit attempt to come across as a regular person, having a conversation with each of us individually, whereas the original ad speaks of one people, one will, one resolve, one cause, and a garden of pure ideology where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests of any contradictory thoughts. Meanwhile, the Hillary soundbite says I don't want people who agree with me. Also, the image of big brother is dark, and blends in with the dark wall in the original commercial, while the imagine of Clinton is bright white, an aberration in the monolithic roomIf I had to guess at the source of this video, I would bet it came from the Clinton campaign. Imagine seeing it without any knowledge of the original. Most people probably don't remember the original all that well. Here is an alternative interpretation of the Clinton video: Clinton is trying to awaken people who have become used to politics as a competitive sport, or partisan war, rather than a discussion, an exchange of ideas, about how to make everyone better off. Hillary says that it's really good that so far, we haven't stopped talking. However, some evil forces don't want you to keep talking. Right before the hammer is thrown, the text on the screen over Hillary reads, this is our conversation. The next time we see the screen, a smiling Hillary again says she hopes to keep this conversation going, just before the sledge hammer smashes into the screen. In the original ad, following the initial explosion as the sledgehammer crashes into the screen, we hear a light, cool breeze, suggesting freedom. This sound appears to have been slowed down in the Clinton video, lowering the pitch and suggesting the cold wind of emptiness and despair. By this point we are really wondering who would be so evil as to want to end our conversation. We then see a bright white screen which says, On January 14th, the Democratic primary will begin. And you'll see why 2008 won't be like '1984.' Note that 1984 has a significance in presidential politics quite apart from Orwell's book. 1984 was the year Walter Mondale, running as an unabashed liberal, lost every state in the nation except Minnesota. The white screen, associated with Clinton, promises a different outcome in 2008, until it is covered over by a pitch black screen bearing Barack Obama's web address. It must be he who wishes to end the conversation.

[Axel]

I disagree Villager.Yes, Clinton and McCain did very well and they won some big setats.But, Obama has proven a point that should not be ignored. He won in setats that I was sure that she would carry. Which is an interesting point. Alaska,Utah, North Dakota, Idaho~do you think large black populations? If you think back to when this all started~this was supposed to be a wrap for Team Billary. And it is not happening that way. She needs to be challenged and so does Obama. That way the national popoulation can see what they both are about politically.I did not think that he would take Calli or NY. I was hoping that something would change before the votes were casted. So those were not surprises to me at all. But in the big picture they are still having at it. The stump is on the way to my home state of Ohio. It is already hot here for both parties. CNN is sponsoring a national debate here. The govenor is a Billary man and has lead her to believe that he can work it out for her.But that is not how I see it. Obama '08 has been working it out all along. I suspect that it is going to be hot as hell here starting today.So cheer up. It is not over and the fat donkey ain't even cleared its vocal chords to sing!