UPDATE 12:35 pm: According to CNN, Clinton will urge supporters to get behind Obama all out, not vote for John McCain, not sit on their hands. The tone will be very "conciliatory" towards Barack Obama as the general election begins.
Lots of talk on CNN about "how far women have come." David Gergen says Hillary's campaign made extraordinary mistakes in the beginning, came roaring back towards the end but it was too late. Gloria Borger says to run as the incumbent in the year of change probably wasn't the optimal situation. Gergen says people liked Hillary but didn't want a coronation. During/after Iowa, the sense about Obama in the Clinton campaign was, "where did he come from?" Another analyst (didn't catch his name) says that Obama was "killing her on the internet" while she was running a traditional campaign. Borger - Obama's message remained constant, Clinton's changed.
UPDATE 12:10 pm: Clinton running a bit late for the scheduled noon speech...apparently 1/2 hour according to MSNBC (saw that on Daily Kos).
UPDATE 12:25 pm: Great news from Rasmussen Reports, "For the first time all year, Obama is supported by 80% of Democrats over McCain. In recent months, his support from Democrats has typically been in the high-60's or low-70's range."
UPDATE 12:26 pm: CNN reports that the speech will last 20 minutes. Also, Clinton will "suspend" her campaign so she can keep her delegates, but she will throw her full support to Barack Obama. Party unity is extremely important.
UPDATE 12:28 pm: Clinton is now on her way to the National Building Museum.
UPDATE 12:35 pm: According to CNN, Clinton will urge supporters to get behind Obama all out, not vote for John McCain, not sit on their hands. The tone will be very "conciliatory" towards Barack Obama as the general election begins.
UPDATE 12:36 pm: Clinton's motorcade has arrived at the National Building Museum.
UPDATE 12:41 pm: I'll live blog the speech as much as possible on the "flip." By the way, Chuck Todd reportedly has pointed out that just "suspending" the campaign is a technical move so Clinton can continue to raise money to offset her campaign debt.
UPDATE 12:44 pm: The Clintons (Chelsea, Bill, Hillary) were just introduced. Crowd cheering loudly and enthusiastically, lots of people holding up digital cameras...
Hillary's Speech
"This isn't exactly the party I planned, but I sure like the company." How grateful I am to all of you who knocked on doors, made calls, raised money, emailed, contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted to their little boys and girls and whispered in their ears, "see, you can be anything you want to be." To the young people. To the veterans. To the New Yorkers, Arkansans. To all those women in their 80s and 90s, born before women could vote, who cast their vote for our campaign. Story about a woman who cast her vote for Hillary from hospice.
My commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding. You have touched me...humbled me with your commitment to our country. 18 million of you from all walks of life -- women and men, young and old, gay and straight, black and white and Hispanic -- you have stood with me. I will continue to stand strong with you. We fought for the single mom with a young daughter. We fought for the woman who works three jobs but is without health care. We fought for all those who lost jobs, health care...
I entered this race because of an old fashioned conviction to help people solve their problems. I'll always be on the front lines of Democracy fighting for you.
The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand, is to take our energy, passion and strength to help elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States. Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won...I endorse him and throw my full support behind him. I ask all of you to work as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me. I have served in the Senate with him for 4 years. I have gone toe-to-toe with him, I have seen his strength, grace and grit. Barack Obama has lived the American dream, has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized, has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process. When I started this race, I intended to take back the White House, and that's exactly what we're going to to by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.
Now, I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. But the Democratic Party is a family. Time to restore ties that bind us together. We may have started on separate journeys, but today our paths have merged. United and more ready than ever to win in November and turn our country around because so much is at stake. We all want an economy that lifts all of our people. We all want universal, high-quality, affordable health care. This is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured, no exceptions and no excuses.
We all want an America defined by deep equality. End discrimination, promote unionization, restore America's standing in the world, end war in Iraq, once again lead by the power of our values. Confront problems ranging from genocide to global warming.
I've been involved in public life for 40 years. During that time, our country has voted 10 times for president. Democrats won only 3 of those times. The man who won two of those elections is with us today...[CNN cuts out, I'm switching to MSNBC]
We must help elect Barack Obama our president to live in a stronger America. Foster innovations to make us energy independent, lift threat of global warming. That's why we have to help elect Barack Obama our president. We'll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq...
This election is a turning point election. It is critical that we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward together or stall and slip backwards. Could a woman really serve as commander in chief? Well, I think we answered that [question]. Could an African American really be our president? Senator Obama has answered that [question]? Together, Sen. Obama and I achieved milestones.
On a personal note, I was proud to be running as a woman, but I was running because I thought I'd be the best president. There are still barriers out there. I want to build an America that embraces the potential of every one of us. I ran as a mother who wants to leave all children a brighter tomorrow. We must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and their mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, equal respect. Let us resolve and work toward achieving: the proposition that there are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable prejudices in the 21st century in our country.
You can be so proud that from now on it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends.
To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all the way, it would break my heart if in falling short of my goal I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours. Always aim high, work hard...when you're knocked down, get right back up, and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on.
Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, it's got 18 million cracks in it. The path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in America. Think of the suffragettes, abolitionists, the civil rights heroes and footsoldiers who fought to bring about the end of segregation and Jim Crow. Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Children growing up today will take it for granted that an African American or a woman can be president of the United States.
You helped pave the way for that day. When you hear people saying, "if only, what if." I say, please, don't go there. Every moment looking back keeps us from moving forward. Life is too short, time is too precious, the stakes are too high, to dwell on what might have been. I will work my heart out to make sure that Sen. Obama is our next president. I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort.
Thanks to all who stood with me. To my friends from every stage in my life. To my family, Bill, Chelsea and my mother...thank you for all you have done, you mean the world to me. To my extraordinary staff, volunteers and supporters, thank you for working those long, hard hours... We will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the country we love, there is nothing more American than that.
Looking out on you today, I have never felt more blessed. The challenges of this campaign are nothing compared to the challenges of millions of ordinary Americans face every day. I'm going to keep going, working to give every American the same opportunities I had, that every child has the opportunity to achieve their God-given potential. Deep and abiding love for our country, optimism and confidence for the days ahead. This is now our time to do all we can to make sure in this election we add another Democratic president, take back our country. God bless you, God bless America.
I hope she stumps with him. And I hope that she will become the eventual majority leader. She can so much good in the Senate.
If Dems can avoid becoming overconfident and slipshod, McCain and hundreds of down-ticket Republican candidates should be in for a humbling experience in November.
Hillary Clinton announced her support for our campaign today.Senator Clinton made history over the past 16 months -- not just because she has broken barriers, but because she has inspired millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to causes like universal health care that make a difference in the lives of hardworking Americans.
Our party and our country are stronger because of the work she has done throughout her life, and I'm a better candidate for having had the privilege of competing with her.
Senator Clinton will be invaluable to our efforts to win in November, and I look forward to campaigning alongside her to bring this country the change it so desperately needs.
Hillary and her supporters are joining us at an urgent moment.
It's going to require a new level of commitment from every single one of us to build a national campaign in the general election.
And we're going win this election the right way -- by growing our grassroots network of ordinary people giving only what they can afford.
Will you help bring a new supporter into the movement by promising to match their first-time donation?
By doubling the impact of someone's gift, you can encourage them to take the next step and own a piece of this campaign. Help us reach our goal of 20,000 new donors by making a matching donation now:
https://donate.barackobama.com...
It's time for all of us to come together to take on John McCain in the general election. John McCain offers another four years of George Bush's policies, which our country simply cannot afford.
To win, we must continue building an unprecedented organization in all 50 states. And that will only happen if we all work together, side-by-side.
Thank you for joining this movement and supporting a new kind of politics.
Together we can do more than just win an election. Together we can change this country, and we can change the world.
And we are honored to have Hillary Clinton at our side as we do it.
Barack
Dear Friend,The Democratic Party is the party of progress, of inclusion, and of an ever-widening circle of opportunity. Over the last 5 months and 54 primaries and caucuses, we've seen this first-hand.
I join all of the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus in congratulating Barack Obama - our friend, our colleague, and our party's nominee for President.
And what a debt of gratitude we owe to Hillary Clinton. Her campaign inspired millions. She reminded us that too many Americans have been left behind - rendered invisible - by the failures of George W. Bush, John McCain and their Republican allies.
As you may know, I was a boxer. And I've seen many fights go the distance. But never have I seen one where everyone came out stronger - until now. Because of the unprecedented number of new voters and the tremendous amount of enthusiastic supporters all the Democrats brought to the primary process, we stand ready to win the White House in 2008. And we stand to make historic gains in both the House and the Senate.
For many months, we knew we'd have a history-making nominee. We knew we'd have millions of Democrats across the country fired up and ready to take on John McCain. Now, let's make sure Senator Obama has a historic level of support from a unified party shouting: "Yes, we can!"
Because of the excitement inspired by our impressive field of Democrats, we will go into the Democratic Convention and on to the general election with unprecedented strength.
In the last several months, we have seen millions of Americans stand up and declare themselves Democrats. We've reversed registration advantages that Republicans have held for years. In Nevada, for example, Democrats outnumber Republicans for the first time in a generation. These new Democrats are old and young, rich and poor, urban and rural, male and female. At the end of the day, no matter who we supported in the primaries, we are all Democrats.
And if we stand together as Democrats this fall, we will stand together on January 20th, 2009 as Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. We will stand up to Republicans with our expanded Senate majority. And we will usher in a new era of change for this country.
Join me in making this happen.
Harry Reid
Kathy's on the right in the pink shirt.
When you hear people saying, "if only, what if." I say, please, don't go there. Every moment looking back keeps us from moving forward. Life is too short, time is too precious, the stakes are too high, to dwell on what might have been.
I thought she was gracious and quite sincere. All the more reason I was annoyed when John King on CNN commented immediately following the speech that clearly she was 'auditioning for the VP slot'. I didn't think that at all.
Does anyone here have a friend who lives in Denver?
The dates I checked for were 24-29 Aug., 5 nights. Total for those dates is $675 plus tax, for a grand total of $707.74.
The hotel has free high speed inteternet.
Tel. number for the hotel is (303) 287-8888.
Web site is www.syper8.com.
T.C.
Time to put all the bad feelings behind us and come together around the core Democratic values that unite us in our desire to bring common sense, reason and compassion back to our country and our commonwealth.
Some Obama people feel like running in the street naked they are so excited yet it all seems to be about Hillary. After the divisions she has engendered in the Party I think she had to do this speech. We seem to be celebrating the fact that Hillary FINALLY did the right thing. For me I welcome her supporters, but as a person who feels free to criticize the Democrats I think we need to realize that Hillary as a candidate did a lot of things wrong. If she hadn't she probably would have won the primary.
This is OBAMA'S TIME. This signals a change in the Democratic Party. It signals a departure from the politics of past to a new kind of politics. We have a new kind of Democratic Party now with a new kind of philosophy. The Dean stategy the DFA philosophy and the Obama campaign have merged to change the Party from a machine driven top down organization to a netroots organization. Whaaa-Hooo! This is MUCH bigger than Hillary's run in the primary. We now have an internet savvy, more creative, rejunventated Democratic Party. I know we all welcome Hillary's supporters but we need to celebrate the victory of netroots progressive politics. We have worked for years to arrive here. It didn't start with Barack but he was a vehicle to bring together forces which were already at work. Hillary's supporters can celebrate the fact that they will be part of a lean mean political machine.