WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama turned on Wednesday to unifying a fractured party for a historic five-month battle for the White House against Republican John McCain, but Hillary Clinton offered no hints of her future plans.
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U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington June 4, 2008. (REUTERS/Jason Reed) |
Obama rocketed from political obscurity to become the first black presidential nominee of a major U.S. party on Tuesday when he locked up the 2,118 delegates he needs for victory at the August convention.
Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady who entered the race 17 months ago as a heavy favorite, did not concede and said she would consult party leaders and supporters about her next move.
Obama will be crowned the Democratic nominee at the convention in August and faces McCain in November to choose a successor to President George W. Bush.
The Illinois senator tried to ease relations with Clinton on Wednesday, calling her an "extraordinary candidate and extraordinary public servant" during a speech to a pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington.
During the speech, he reaffirmed his strong support for Israel and promised to do "everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That starts with aggressive, principled diplomacy without self-defeating preconditions."
In a separate appearance before the group later on Wednesday, Clinton said "I know that Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel."
She told New York members of Congress she would be open to becoming Obama's vice presidential running mate, and her backers turned up the pressure on Obama to pick her as his No. 2.
Robert Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, said he wrote to the Congressional Black Caucus urging members to push Obama to choose Clinton.
The victory by Obama, son of a black Kenyan father and white mother from Kansas, marked a milestone in U.S. history. It came 45 years after the height of the civil rights movement and followed one of the closest and longest nomination fights in recent U.S. political history.
Obama clinched the win after a wave of uncommitted delegates announced their support on Tuesday, pushing his total to 2,156, according to an MSNBC count. Clinton, who would have been the first woman nominee in U.S. political history, won more than 1,900 delegates.
HISTORIC JOURNEY
"Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another," Obama said at a victory celebration in St. Paul, Minnesota, the site of the Republican National Convention in September.
"Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States," he told 17,000 cheering supporters. Another 15,000 gathered outside.
Five months of state-by-state delegate selection concluded on Tuesday with Obama winning Montana and Clinton capturing South Dakota.
More party leaders and uncommitted officials are expected to back Obama on Wednesday. Democratic leaders urged uncommitted delegates to announce a decision by Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, party chairman Howard Dean and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin issued a joint statement saying Democrats must stand united against McCain.
"I am committed to uniting our party so we can move forward stronger and more ready than ever to take back the White House in November," Clinton told a cheering crowd of supporters in New York City on Tuesday night. But she made no public overtures to Obama.
The two are expected to meet soon to discuss Clinton's role in the looming election campaign. Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, told CBS, "What she has always said was, 'I will do anything to help win in the fall.'"
The two rivals talked early on Wednesday, and Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama told her he would like to "sit down when it makes sense for you." But no meeting was scheduled.
McCain, an Arizona senator, also was looking forward to the general election battle with Obama.
The 71-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war kicked off his race against Obama with a rally in Louisiana on Tuesday where he sought to distance himself from Bush and questioned Obama's judgment.
"If I am going to win this election, the key to winning this election will be independent voters and Democrats as well," McCain told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday.
Obama, 46, is serving his first term in the U.S. Senate and would be the fifth-youngest president. He was an Illinois state senator when he burst on the national scene with a well received keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention.
(Additional reporting by Donna Smith, Caren Bohan, Thomas Ferraro, Ellen Wulfhorst)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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