PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 2008 WATCH: |
| THE WEEK THAT WAS.... | The week that was....- June 7, 2008: Hillary Clintons throws her total support behind Obama’s candidacy and urges her supporters to do the same.
- June 6, 2008: Clinton and Obama have what should have been a secret meeting to discuss the terms of Clinton’s endorsement.
- June 4-5, 2008: Hilary Clinton’s key supporters call for a “dream ticket” with Clinton as the Vice Presidential candidate. Obama will not commit.
- June 4, 2008: Hillary Clinton’s campaign announces she will suspend her candidacy, and will have a rally on Saturday June 7, 2008 to concede and endorse Obama’s nomination
- June 3, 2008: The Presidential campaign primaries end, Barack Obama reaches the number necessary to capture the Democratic Nomination. However, Hillary Clinton, chooses not to concede on the same night.
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| THE STATS | The Stats |
| HISTORIANS COMMENTS | Historians Comment- Professor James Taylor, who teaches politics and African American history at the University of San
Francisco on"Obama faces tough task healing rift with women":
"Winning over the women is a real challenge. This will be a sad day when Hillary Clinton steps down for a lot of people, because … a whole generation of women thought it would be possible in their lifetime to see a woman administer the American state.” Many feminists believe Clinton was the focus of unforgivable sexism during the race - such as charges that she was “shrill” and an excessive focus on her clothing and emotions - and they are inclined to blame Obama, he said. “Women will have to forgive,” he said. “They will have to ask themselves: Are they even angrier now than when George Bush was elected in 2004? “Even though Barack isn’t responsible … for the sexism Hillary has experienced, many people supporting him have done it,” he said. So “it’s a soul-searching moment for Americans in general.” -
San Francisco Chronicle, 6-6-08 - Professor James Taylor on"Obama: Triumphant end to long primary season":
"This is perhaps the second greatest moment in African American history - symbolically right up there with the
abolition of slavery," said Professor James Taylor, who teaches politics and African American history at the
University of San Francisco."It will have tremendous effect across the world ... overnight, the world will
exhale and say, 'My God, America has done something different, unprecedented.'" -
San Francisco Chronicle, 6-4-08 - Simon Sheppard, Boston University:
Hillary, Continued A poli-sci prof talks about what comes next Interview -
BU Today, 6-5-08
- Larry Sabato, University of Virginia political professor on"What Went Wrong for Hillary":
"They thought they were going to knock Obama and everybody else out of the box with the first few primaries and
caucuses, and they were just dead wrong." -
Voice of America, 6-6-08 - Bruce Miroff, a professor of political science at the State University of New York at Albany on"What Went
Wrong for Hillary":
The seeds of defeat for the Clinton campaign may have been planted as early as 2002, when Senator Clinton voted
in favor of waging war in Iraq. Although she later renounced support for the war, that vote may have put
Clinton at a disadvantage against Obama, who opposed the war from the start."Because Hillary Clinton voted
for the resolution in 2002 authorizing President Bush to use military force in Iraq, there was always the
likelihood that there would be a significant anti-war challenger to her in the Democratic primaries, and
that a lot of the activist base of the party would rally behind such a challenger. So the premise that
Hillary was a kind of inevitable nominee was always questionable," he said. -
Voice of America, 6-6-08 - Patricia Turner, professor of African-American studies at the University of California, Davis on"Young voters: Obama's race as an asset, non-issue":
"Obama's race is just one factor that makes him more accessible to younger voters. She recalls a conversation at
a recent university dinner where her table included a few Asian-American students and a white woman in her 30s
who was married to a man of mixed race. Asked what struck them about Obama, they listed everything from his age
and rearing by a single mother to the fact that he is biracial."There's something about the sophisticated and complex ethnic identity that resonates with younger
voters as well," says Turner, who is black."Younger people are able to say 'we' — and that 'we'
includes Barack Obama." For Turner, the progress made is notable and moving.
At age 52, she has vivid memories of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. So Obama's candidacy
is a reminder of how far the nation has come."There have been times in the Obama campaign when I think, 'I wish Dad
could've seen that' or 'I wish my mother were here' to just see him holding his own," Turner says of her parents, who
are no longer living."They would have been proud." -
AP, 6-6-08 - Maurice Thorton, on"A Historic Candidate" -
News 10 Now, NY, 6-6-08
- Bruce Schulman, a political historian at Boston University on"Clinton vows to work hard to get Obama
elected":
"She can certainly run an I-told-you-so campaign four years from now, and she might have a strong
chance to win the nomination then." –
San Francisco Chronicle, 6-8-08 - Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University on"Clinton vows to work hard to get
Obama elected":
Unlike Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, Clinton has lost a primary, not the general
election, and so is not perceived"as the one who lost it for the party," said Julian Zelizer, a political
historian at Princeton University."So I think that actually helps her in terms of her future. The party's
not going to blame her if things go wrong in November." -
San Francisco Chronicle, 6-8-08 - Who Said Senators Can't Be President? Never Before Have Two Sitting Senators Run Head To Head As Major
Party Nominees –
CBS News, 6-5-08">
CBS News, 6-5-08
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| ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL... | On the Campaign Trail....-
Barack Obama, Final Primary Night, June 3, 2008:
Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end.
Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield,
Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said –
because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than
all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest
aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will
bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee
for President of the United States.
...All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason
you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that
because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment –
a moment that will define a generation – we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children
a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say –
let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America....
America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to
bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.
The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and
knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people.
Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that
generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to
provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow
and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image
as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great
nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may
God Bless the United States of America.
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John McCain, Remarks in light of Obama's Presumptive Nominee Status, June 3, 2008:
....Tonight, we can say with confidence the primary season is over, and the general election campaign has begun. I
commend both Senators Obama and Clinton for the long, hard race they have run. Senator Obama has impressed many
Americans with his eloquence and his spirited campaign. Senator Clinton has earned great respect for her tenacity
and courage. The media often overlooked how compassionately she spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions of
Americans, and she deserves a lot more appreciation than she sometimes received. As the father of three daughters,
I owe her a debt for inspiring millions of women to believe there is no opportunity in this great country beyond
their reach. I am proud to call her my friend. Pundits and party elders have declared that Senator Obama will be
my opponent. He will be a formidable o ne. But I'm ready for the challenge, and determined to run this race in a way
that does credit to our campaign and to the proud, decent and patriotic people I ask to lead.
The decision facing Americans in this election couldn’t be more important to the future security and prosperity of
American families. This is, indeed, a change election. No matter who wins this election, the direction of this
country is going to change dramatically. But, the choice is between the right change and the wrong change; between
going forward and going backward....
The wrong change looks not to the future but to the past for solutions that have failed us before and will surely
fail us again. I have a few years on my opponent, so I am surprised that a young man has bought in to so many
failed ideas. Like others before him, he seems to think government is the answer to every problem; that government
should take our resources and make our decisions for us. That type of change doesn't trust Americans to know what
is right or what is in their own best interests. It's the attitude of politicians who are sure of themselves but
have little faith in the wisdom, decency and common sense of free people. That attitude created the unresponsive
bureaucracies of big government in the first place. And that's not change we can believe in....
I have seen Republicans and Democrats achieve great things together. When the stakes were high and it mattered most,
I've seen them work together in common purpose, as we did in the weeks after September 11th. This kind of cooperation
has made all the difference at crucial turns in our history. It has given us hope in difficult times. It has
moved America forward. And that, my friends, is the kind of change we need right now.
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Hillary Clinton, Remarks in Washington, DC, June 7, 2008:
"....It is this belief, this optimism, that Senator Obama and I share, and that has inspired so many millions of
our supporters to make their voices heard.
So today, I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can....
...As we gather here today in this historic magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting
overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.
Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about
18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the
sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in
America.
Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast
their votes. Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil
rights heroes and foot-soldiers who marched, protested and risked their lives to bring about the end to segregation
and Jim Crow.
Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote. Because of them, my daughter grew up taking for
granted that children of all colors could go to school together. Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a
hard fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them, and because of you, children today will grow
up taking for granted that an African American or a woman can yes, become President of the United States.
When that day arrives and a woman takes the oath of office as our President, we will all stand taller, proud of the
values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream and that her dreams can come true in America. And all
of you will know that because of your passion and hard work you helped pave the way for that day.
So I want to say to my supporters, when you hear people saying - or think to yourself -"if only" or"what if," I say,"please don't go there." Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.
Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to
work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is
our next President and I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effor...."
- Barack Obama, Reactions to Hillary Clinton's Endorsement:
Obviously, I am thrilled and honored to have Senator Clinton's support. But more than that, I honor her today for
the valiant and historic campaign she has run. She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere,
who now know that there are no limits to their dreams. And she inspired millions with her strength, courage and
unyielding commitment to the cause of working 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 in this campaign. No one knows better than Senator Clinton how desperately America and the American people
need change, and I know she will continue to be in the forefront of that battle this fall and for years to come."
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