Obama Says He Won, But Clinton Does Not Concede

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted June 4, 2008.

Sixteen months after he announced an unlikely and audacious bid to change American politics, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) appeared to win the necessary delegates to be the Democratic National Convention presidential nominee in 2008.

"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," Obama said, speaking at a large rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Because of you, tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States."

Meanwhile, as mainstream media were declaring an end to her candidacy, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), speaking to her supporters in New York City, refused to concede the nomination and reiterated the points she will make to party leaders in coming days: that she would be the strongest candidate to win in the fall.

"I am committed to uniting our party, so we can move forward, stronger and more ready than ever to take back the White House this November," she said. "In the coming days, I'll be consulting with supporters and party leaders to determine how to move forward with the best interests of our party and our country guiding the way."

Tuesday was the final day of the Democrat's 2008 nominating season, with Obama winning Montana and Clinton winning South Dakota. As the polls closed in Montana, Obama announced the support of more than two dozen superdelegates -- party leaders -- that pushed him far past the 2,118 delegate threshold needed to become the nominee, according to a tally by the Associated Press. In contrast, Clinton had 1,907 delegates.

As Obama supporters celebrated from coast to coast, and their candidate praised Clinton in his remarks and then opened a General Election-style campaign by distinguishing his views from those of the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Clinton left open the possibility that she would contest Obama's delegate totals within the party's governing bodies. Just this past weekend, a top campaign lawyer accused the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee of "hijacking" delegates after that body accepted a compromise on seating the Florida and Michigan delegations. It remains to be seen whether Clinton will appeal that decision to the party's Credentials Committee.

"Now the question is, where do we go from here, and given how far we've come and where we need to go as a party, it's a question I don't take lightly," she said.

Despite her refusal to concede, Obama praised Clinton in his remarks, saying she was among the Democratic Party's best and brightest leaders, and one who would be very influential in the party for years to come. "Our party and our country are better off because of her," he said, "and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton."

Obama then turned to the question on many Democrat's minds -- how to heal the rift in the party between Democrats who support him and who support Clinton.

"There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided," he said. "Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are Independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation."

Then, as is his style, Obama appealed to Democrat's better angels to unify behind a campaign for real change.

"All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply," he began. "But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say - let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America."

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Steven Rosenfeld is a senior fellow at Alternet.org and co-author of "What Happened in Ohio: A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in the 2004 Election," with Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman (The New Press, 2006).

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