Obama grabs nomination, place in history

ST. PAUL, MINN. - Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday clinched the Democratic presidential race, becoming the first black to secure a major party’s White House nomination as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton prepared to end her own historic bid and fed speculation about taking the vice presidential slot on the fall ticket.

The 46-year-old, first-term U.S. senator from Illinois crossed the Democrats’ 2,118 delegate threshold early Tuesday evening after a flood of endorsements from superdelegates - elected officials and party leaders - including Clinton supporters and former President Jimmy Carter.

Mr. Obama, who was poised to win the final two contests of the prolonged primary season in Montana and South Dakota Tuesday night, declared victory at the Xcel Energy Center here - the site where his general election rival Sen. John McCain will officially be chosen as the Republican nominee this summer.

“And because of what you said; because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America,” Mr. Obama said in prepared remarks.

“Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.”

The celebration - five months after Mr. Obama won the Iowa caucus - marked the final shift to the general election, five months from tomorrow.

He prepared to frame Mr. McCain as a carbon copy of President Bush while praising Mrs. Clinton and extending welcoming arms to her loyal supporters, whom he will need in the fall.

“When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen,” he said. “Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Devastated Clinton fans and aides said yesterday that they approached the day with a heavy heart - most were proud that the party would have its first black nominee but were sad their candidate was not able to break the glass ceiling.

In New York, Mrs. Clinton was to suspend her campaign but not completely drop out of the race. She is expected to endorse Mr. Obama soon.

In the coming months, Mr. Obama will select a running mate, and it’s yet to be seen whether he will consider his former rival among a potential shortlist of possibilities.

Mr. Obama has long said Mrs. Clinton would be a good vice presidential pick for any nominee and yesterday she began positioning herself as interested in the job.

She told New York lawmakers who asked about the possibility of her taking a spot as Mr. Obama’s running mate in the fall, “I am open to it.”

Sources on the call told the Associated Press that Mrs. Clinton said she would do it if it would help the party win against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

While some lamented that this would not be the year for the first female nominee, party leaders hailed Mr. Obama, who would give a convention acceptance speech on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

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