28 August 2008
Democrats Formally Nominate Barack Obama for U.S. Presidency
Vice presidential nominee Joe Biden: “The choice in this election is clear”
Denver -- Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, with the help of Hillary Clinton, on August 27 formally nominated Barack Obama to be the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party.
Delegates’ primary responsibility is nominating the party’s presidential candidate. The majority of the more than 4,400 delegates are pledged to vote for a specific candidate, based on the result of their state’s primary election or caucus.
Among the 4,400 delegates were all the delegates from Florida and Michigan, states that were part of controversy that lasted nearly a year. In the fall of 2007, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said it would not count Florida and Michigan's pledged delegates because the states violated party rules by scheduling their primaries prior to February 5. Neither candidate campaigned in those states, and Obama removed his name from the Michigan ballot.
Clinton, who easily won both state's primaries, had argued for months that the full delegations should be seated while Obama's campaign said it would be unfair to count their delegates. In a compromise solution, the party ruled in May that it would allow the states' delegates to cast half a vote each. Earlier this week, with Obama's nomination secure, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee quietly voted to restore the states' full voting rights.
As allowed by party rules, Clinton “released” her delegates, a procedure that allowed them to vote for any candidate. In a roll call vote, states, one by one, verbally cast their ballots. Many delegates, but not all, decided to switch their vote to Obama.
As New York’s delegation prepared to cast its votes, Clinton called for a suspension of the roll call. “With eyes firmly fixed on the future in the spirit of unity … let’s declare together in one voice, right here and right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president,” Clinton said.
By voice vote, the delegates approved Clinton’s motion, formally nominating the Illinois senator to be the 2008 Democratic presidential candidate.
As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was overseeing the vote, said, “It is with great pride that I announce that Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for president of the United States by acclamation,” the convention hall broke into celebration. Delegates waved signs, danced and cheered for their nominee.
BIDEN, OTHER PARTY LEADERS MAKE CASE FOR OBAMA
By a quick voice vote, the delegates endorsed Delaware Senator Joe Biden as their vice presidential nominee.
In his acceptance speech, Biden said, “The choice in this election is clear.”
“These times require more than a good soldier; they require a wise leader, a leader who can deliver change, the change everybody knows we need. Barack Obama will deliver that change.”
Biden said Obama would revitalize the American dream by cutting taxes, increasing sources of alternative energy, making college more affordable, reducing health care costs and achieving equal pay for women.
Biden criticized McCain’s policy goals, comparing them to those of President Bush, reiterating a common Democratic campaign theme that McCain represents “more of the same.” Countering McCain’s argument that Obama is not prepared to handle national security issues, Biden said the Democratic candidate has correctly assessed the political and security situations in Iraq and Afghanistan while “McCain was wrong” in his analysis.
The Delaware senator, the first person from his small state to earn a nomination on a major party ticket, shared some of his personal story with delegates. The Obama campaign often describes Biden as a dedicated family man who has overcome adversity, including the loss of his first wife and a daughter in a car accident just weeks after he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972.
Inside and outside the convention hall, other party leaders maintained Obama, a first-term senator and one of the United States’ youngest presidential nominees, is ready to lead.
At a Foreign Press Center briefing August 27, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed offered a message similar to Biden’s, telling journalists that when the American people look at McCain’s proposed policies and compare them to Obama’s, “the choice will be clear.”
A president must be not only a commander in chief but able to conduct diplomacy, strengthen the economy and provide inspirational leadership. Reed said Obama has the “kind of qualities that are essential to a president.”
BILL CLINTON’S ENDORSEMENT
One of the night’s most vocal advocates for Obama was former President Bill Clinton, who told his party, “Barack Obama is ready to lead America and to restore American leadership in the world.”
Clinton spoke about the United States’ role in the world, saying that if elected, Obama would strengthen alliances, curb global warming and fight HIV/AIDS.
The former president, who was elected at age 46, recounted his campaign for the presidency in 1992, in which Republicans “said I was too young and too inexperienced to be commander in chief.”
“It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history,” Clinton said. “And it will not work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.” (See “Former President Helps Democratic Party Unite Behind Obama.”)
Typically, the presidential nominee does not appear at the convention until he gives his acceptance speech, but Obama surprised and excited delegates when he briefly showed up on stage at the conclusion of the day’s events. He is scheduled to accept his party’s nomination August 28 in front of a crowd of about 75,000 at nearby Invesco Field football stadium.
