By BETH FOUHY - Associated Press
Some of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s biggest backers from New York rallied around Barack Obama Thursday as she signaled her candidacy was ending. The likely Democratic nominee said he won’t be hurried into a decision on whether to make her his running mate.
Clinton, in an e-mail to supporters, said she “will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.”
The e-mail was a shift in tone by the former first lady, who announced 17 months ago that she was “in it to win it.” Many of her supporters now are pushing for her to be included as the vice presidential candidate, in their minds a “dream ticket” that would bring Obama her enthusiastic legions and broaden his appeal to white and working-class voters.
But Obama indicated he intends to take his time making a decision.
“We’re not going to be rushed into it. I don’t think Senator Clinton expects a quick decision and I don’t even know that she’s necessarily interested in that,” Obama told NBC in an interview.
Clinton’s move to formally declare that she is backing the Illinois senator came after Democratic congressional colleagues made clear they had no stomach for a protracted intraparty battle. Now that Obama has secured the 2,118 delegates necessary to clinch the nomination, Clinton had little choice but to end her quest, and sooner rather than later.
Some of Clinton’s most stolid congressional boosters — other New York lawmakers — were preparing a group endorsement Thursday afternoon of Obama.
A few didn’t wait that long. Reps. Gregory Meeks, Edolphus Towns and Yvette Clarke announced late Wednesday they were backing the Illinois senator and calling for party unity.
“We stand firmly in his corner and are ready to help him continue to make history on behalf of the American people,” the trio said in a statement.
The move to end her campaign came Tuesday, when Clinton told House Democrats during a private conference call that she would get behind Obama’s candidacy and congratulate him for gathering the necessary delegates to be the party’s nominee.
Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson said Clinton will express her support for Obama at an event she is hosting Saturday in Washington, D.C., to thank her supporters.
Also in the speech, Clinton will urge once-warring Democrats to focus on the general election and defeating Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
The only degree of uncertainty was how. Clinton is exploring options to retain her delegates and promote her issues, including a signature call for universal health care.
The announcement closed an epic five-month nominating battle pitting the first serious female candidate against the most viable black contender ever.
Obama on Tuesday night secured the delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. But Clinton stopped short of acknowledging that milestone, defiantly insisting she was better positioned to defeat McCain in November.
“What does Hillary want? What does she want?” Clinton asked, hours after telling supporters she’d be open to joining Obama as his vice presidential running mate.
But by Wednesday, other Democrats made it abundantly clear they wanted something too: a swift end to the often bitter nominating contest.
Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean and the Democratic congressional leadership released a statement urging the party to rally behind Obama, and several lawmakers, including Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar and Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, all endorsed their Illinois colleague.
Obama also announced he had named a three-person vice presidential vetting team that included Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President Kennedy.
On the telephone call with impatient congressional supporters that included New York Rep. Charles Rangel, a longtime political patron, Clinton was urged to draw a close to the contentious campaign, or at least express support for Obama.
New York lawmakers wanted to campaign for Obama this weekend, but many weren’t comfortable doing that if she hadn’t formally endorsed her rival, Rangel said.
“The quicker we proved that we were committed to Senator Obama, then the better for all of us,” Rangel said Thursday on CBS’ “Early Show.”
Rangel said Obama and Clinton need each other — it would help him pick up her supporters if she were on the Democratic ticket, and she “needs to maintain momentum” as a national and international leader.
Her decision to acquiesce caught many in the campaign by surprise and left the campaign scrambling to finalize the logistics and specifics behind her campaign departure.
It was an inauspicious end for a candidacy that appeared all but indestructible when it began Jan. 20, 2007.
Armed with celebrity, a prodigious fundraising network, a battle-tested campaign team and husband who also was a popular two-term former president, Clinton was believed by many observers to be unbeatable.
But in Obama, the New York senator faced an opponent who appeared perfectly suited to the time — a charismatic newcomer who had opposed the Iraq war from the beginning — in contrast to her — and who offered voters a compelling message of change. Clinton voted for the legislation that authorized military force against Iraq, a decision that hampered her campaign from the beginning.
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 2:16 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Im digging the Kennedy daughter thing.. something about that feels right. But i have to say no to Hilary.. Shes bitter! She showed alot of herself during the campaign trail and i did not like what i saw.. shes just another YT tryna keep the black man down..
I feel you with the Hillary shit. She fucked up when she REFUSED to concede the other night. You can’t be serious… and then you want to be on the ticket as the V.P.??? NOT!
The truth remains Obama needs her supporters in order to win this election, so say what you want about Hillary she still can help him make it to the next level. What you don’t want is for all those supporters to go over to McCain’s side because if they do it’s a wrap.
Shaz
Maybe I’ll get slaughter here, but I was a Hillary supporter until I got so tired of the mess I withdraw from it all! Of course I’ll support Obama to the fullest, but I do know some of my peers that are quite bitter and refuse to. Somehow I think they will come to their senses!
TMA she certainly could have handled it more graciously then she did in her speech, but I don’t necessarily think “conceding” on tuesday was a must! I think shes doing it in a timely enough fashion.
I really don’t believe Obama NEEDS her supporters. Many just want the Dems in the office. Her FAMILY is prominent… people may have backed her for different reasons. This country is not about rich and poor as much as it’s about SOCIAL STATUS. I believe he has the ability to sway the vote. I do not think those who support her want to support McCain.
As for Hil. Nothing about her says team player. She IS bitter and you know what, I believe THAT sabotaged her campaign. She wants to get in the White House what ever way possible. She’ll prob CREATE scandal to get him out. My feeling stands… better luck next time!!! I always thought she was fronting anyway… talk about doing this and get up in ther and switch up. She’s no bill clinton… people needed to keep that in mind. And Bill looks like a “Yes man” anyway
I myself will never vote for obam ben ladin we are being over run from with in.wake up America.Now that Clinton is out I will be voting for anyone but Obama, as well as a lot more folks.If he get in we will be open to more terror in our own back yards.I have many folded flags in my family and my fathers most of all.Freedom is not free. Our service men and women dont fight for politics. They fight for the men next to them, for us, for our future and our right to exist. Trust me we will all pay for this mistake, For the first time in my life I will be ashamed to be an American .We need to find the same grit our for fathers had and do right by this country.Elect a President who is not afraid to par take in the national antham and place his hand over his heart and not turn away.
^^^ I am so sorry but u are as delusional as they come. Your current Prez has our soldiers fighting a war that 1. cannot be won because these Arabs can’t wait to get to Allah and take 5-6,000 Americans wit um. 2. And for what? oil that his punk a_ _ claim is being used for untraditional purposes other than his own. Terror came to our back door when the Bush Sr. and Lil Bush administration came about, prior to that the U.S. never had to worry about terrorism. So if this is the first time u will be ashamed u must really be messed up and mad at the world period, cause Obama ain’t done nothing to u or ur family, Bush has already f_ _ _ _ _ up your family by abusing our National Anthem (correct spelling) and bullying smaller countries for their oil fields. You see he backed that a_ _ up when China stood up to him and said ” I drop bomb on dat a_ _” yeah they have some stuff that can reach us without terrorism ya dig, so get ya facts straight before u go off dissin possibly the first African American presidential elect.
Shaz
Obama don’t need Clinton for the vice president it would be a disaster she is all for Hillary she would be campaing for the next time around instaed of helping the demcratic party move on.
You are making an assumption based on what electoral campaigns consist of; slandering of ur opponent in order to gain votes, she did what was expected in any campaign, they all do and when it comes time for Obama to go up against McCain u will see the same slander. If Hillary becomes the V.P. elect her and Obama’s name will be dragged in the mud together by the opposite party.
Shaz