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."

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[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 !!!