Barack Obama Wins The Democratic Presidential Contest! [please, someone tell Sen. Clinton it's over!]

The Democrats Have Selected their Presidential Candidate.

This is a historic moment for the United States, and the first step to changing the direction of our country. Not so long ago, who could have imagined that a Clinton with lots of money, insider support, and "air of inevitability" would be ultimately defeated by a black man with a funny name--Barack Hussein Obama?! That the junior senator from Illinois would be the one to lead the Democratic party to vie for the presidency in 2008?!! This is the time for change, and I mean progressive change!

This contest has been decided today after a long, harsh, but beneficial process. It gave the opportunity to millions of Americans--many new to politics--to participate in an important event, and to many others to get to know the next president of the US. Senator Obama learned a great deal as well from this long campaign--a necessary experience for him to be "vetted" and become a better, formidable candidate.

Hubris

This is an opportunity to celebrate and look ahead with hope. However, there's a sour note in this: Senator Clinton refused to concede! "No decision tonight," she said. I say, what's the point senator? What the hell are you trying to achieve now? This is not about you anymore. The millions of Americans that voted for you are not your property. Thank you for your participation, now be gracious and throw your support behind Sen. Obama! It's over, as it should be. And, please, don't try to fool us by asking your supporters to go to your website to tell you what to do next! You don't know?!! Of course, you do! You still think it's about you, and that you can hold hostage a political party that is so near to winning an extremely important election!

This used to be funny, but I bet it can get ugly if Clinton persists

On the other hand, Sen. Clinton has to look no further than her own speech tonight (6/3/08) to see who should be the next president of the country. Who would implement change and the policies she advocates? Sen. Clinton, to her credit, talked about health care for every American, better opportunities for education, smarter foreign policy in Iraq, medical research, an economy that serves most Americans, stopping the genocide in Darfur, and having pro-environment policies! Also as a pro-choice woman, Hillary knows that the future of the Supreme Court is at stake here--the next president will definitely nominate at least one justice to the high court. Not even for a moment does she think that Sen. McCain would be the better president! If so, she should stop being petulant and selfish, and work hard to elect Obama and as many progressive Democrats to Congress in November!

"Deranged narcissism." CNN's Jeffrey Toobin on Clinton's refusal to concede.

As for the so-called "dream ticket," I don't think it would be a good idea for Obama to offer the VP spot to Clinton, at least not yet. He should take his time, examine the possibilities and potential running mates. He should get a boost in the country after today, and his VP choice should be a gain-only to the ticket. It should be a deliberative choice not one under pressure from the Clinton camp. It'll take a while. Obviously it goes without saying that Sen. Clinton has to "disband her army" and drop her demands--just as she would expect Sen. Obama to do if she had won the contest!



PS>As I've said numerous times in the past few months, I still don't think the Democratic party will get to the Convention in August divided. If I was advising Hillary, I'd tell her to drop this silliness before the party leadership [remember, she doesn't control the party], the activists, the netroots, and many of her own troops come down on her like a ton of bricks.


Update, 6/8
Well, it's done. Hillary Clinton saw the light (that the party would not stand for her ..narcissism) and today she suspended her campaign. According to some reports, she's almost $30 million in the red, so by suspending she can still raise money to pay off her bills. So far, I've predicted correctly that the Dems would finish this selection process in the first week of June, and solidify behind Obama. What's happened so far, it will be ancient history by the time Obama accepts the nomination 45 years to the day Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.