Voices In Color

Obama Clinches Nomination; First Black Candidate To Lead A Major Party Ticket

With Senator Barack Obama crossing the threshold of delegates he needed to claim the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday evening, party leaders began to move on Wednesday to bring their lengthy primary battle to a close and unite the party, even as questions swirled about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s next move.

Four top Democratic leaders on Wednesday morning asked all uncommitted superdelegates to make their preferences known by Friday. While they did not formally endorse Mr. Obama or urge Mrs. Clinton to exit the race, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Harry Reid and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said in a joint statement: “Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election.” They added that the party needed to “stand united and begin our march toward reversing the eight years of failed Bush/McCain policies that have weakened our country.”

But Mrs. Clinton’s top aides on Wednesday morning continued to sidestep questions about when she would suspend her campaign, even as some of her supporters began ratcheting up pressure on Mr. Obama to take her on as his running mate.

Read more: The New York Times

Next on Agenda Is Clinton’s Role

Senator Barack Obama heads into the general election with obvious advantages: He is a Democratic candidate running in a sour atmosphere for Republicans, in a contest where voters are hungry for change and coming out of a campaign in which he filled arena after arena with supporters.

Yet while he would like to shift his attention fully to the onslaught already coming from Senator John McCain and the Republicans, Mr. Obama still has problems in his own party that may overshadow everything else until he addresses them: How to repair relations with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her supporters and whether to offer her a spot on the ticket.

Mrs. Clinton used her final hours of the long primary season to make clear that she would be open to being Mr. Obama’s running mate. If there was ever any hope in Democratic circles that she would let Mr. Obama off the hook with an evasion or a flat declaration of no interest, Mrs. Clinton dashed it on Tuesday.

Read more: The New York Times

Barack Obama: Calm In The Swirl Of History

He gives the appearance of a strikingly laid-back victor, this presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

On the day before the night he made history, Barack Obama shot hoops at the Back Bay Club in Chicago, and called the odd superdelegate or two. Then he and his wife, Michelle, kissed their daughters goodnight and, with a half dozen of their best friends, rode to Midway Airport to catch a flight to St. Paul to claim his prize. He sat on the plane, legs crossed, chuckling, chatting, giving little hint of what roiled within.

Mr. Obama has written of his “spooky good fortune” in politics, and vaulting ambition and self-possession define his rise.

Read more: The New York Times

Today's Black Fact(s)

1.  On this day in 1906, Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

2.  On this day in 1942, Curtis Mayfield was born  in Chicago, Illinois.

Puerto Rico Moves Obama Closer To Nomination

Hillary Rodham Clinton won most of the delegates in Puerto Rico's primary Sunday, but Barack Obama crept closer to clinching the Democratic nomination for president.

Clinton won 38 delegates and Obama won 17, according to an Associated Press analysis of election results. All of the Puerto Rico delegates have been allocated.

Obama has a total of 2,071 delegates, leaving him 47 shy of the number needed to clinch the nomination, with two primaries remaining. Clinton has 1915.5, according to the latest tally by the AP.

Obama also picked up two superdelegates Sunday, which means he has made up most of the ground he lost Saturday when the national party's rules committee voted to reinstate delegates from Michigan and Florida. The delegates had been stripped because the two states violated party rules by holding primaries before Feb. 5.

Read more:  The Associated Press

Clinton seeks To Go After Obama Superdelegates

As Barack Obama turns to concentrate on his general election challenge, his rival Hillary Rodham Clinton is mounting a last ditch campaign to stay relevant in what is left of the Democratic presidential contest.

The former first lady enters this week with an insurgent strategy not only to win over undecided superdelegates but to peel away Obama's support from those party leaders and elected officials who already have committed to back him for the nomination.

"One thing about superdelegates is that they can change their minds," she told reporters aboard her campaign plane Sunday night.

Read more:  The Associated Press