Obama Claims Nomination, Begins Making Promises

by Jarrett Martineau | June 4, 2008 at 09:09 am

1627 views | 17 Recommendations | 23 comments

The moment has arrived. Having successfully claimed the U.S. Democratic nomination Tuesday night, Barack Obama received congratulations from President Bush and Condoleeza Rice, made a strongly pro-Israel speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Council, and pledged to include Senator Clinton in any future administration. Let the real battle begin!

Should Obama pick Clinton as his VP candidate? Vote here.

See additional NowPublic coverage of this issue here:

DCPSR reports on "Barack Obama, The Democratic Nominee"
Politisite reports on "Clinton Concession Clues at AIPAC"
Kwapi V reports on "How They Will Try to Destroy Obama"
Karen Hatter reports on "The 'Reality' Card"

Gawker's Obama "Victory Gallery"

Barack Obamais the Democratic nominee for President! It's so exciting and historic!Finally, newspapers across the nation get to run all those "what doesit mean that we have a black candidate" pieces they've been sitting onfor months. In the interest of having something new to sayabout this campaign of a thousand cuts, we've compiled a gallery ofnewspaper front pages from around the nation (but mostly New York andDC).

Obama Clinches Democratic Nomination:

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.”

Condolezza Rice and George W. Bush congratulate Obama:

Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, the highest-ranking black member of the Bush administration, congratulated Barack Obama Wednesday on his history-making achievement in securing the Democratic presidential nomination.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino also extended President Bush's congratulations.

Obama on Tuesday gathered enough delegates to seize the nomination, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party toward the White House.

Obama a "true friend" of Israel:

US Democratic presumptive nominee Barack Obama said Wednesday that Jerusalem must remain the "undivided" capital of Israel in a speech to a powerful US-Israel lobby group here.

"Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided," Obama told the vast annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC).

Addressing the group in almost his first act since claiming the Democratic nomination late Tuesday, Obama said he was a "true friend" of Israel and that the US bond with the Jewish state was "unbreakable."

Obama drew a standing ovation as he arrived to address the mighty US-Israel lobby, and also addressed perceived suspicion of him in some sectors of the Jewish community.

"As president I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security," Obama said in a cavernous Washington conference center, his image emblazoned across eight massive cinema-style screens.

Obama said in the strikingly pro-Israel speech that the US bond with the Jewish state was "unbreakable today, unbreakable tomorrow, unbreakable for ever," adding he was speaking from his heart as a "true friend" of Israel.

Obama vows to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapon:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday Iran posed a serious threat in the Middle East and vowed to stop it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
"The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat," Mr. Obama said in a speech to a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby group.
"I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon - everything," he said to a standing ovation.

Obama makes unity bid

Mr Obama has paid tribute to Mrs Clinton and hinted that she would play a role in any future Obama administration.

Mrs Clinton has said she would be "open" to the idea of being Mr Obama's vice-presidential running-mate.

Correspondents say the Democratic campaign to choose a nominee has been deeply divisive which is why senior Democrats have called for the party to unite and focus on the general election.

They urged the remaining super-delegates - party officials with a free choice over who to support at the party's selection convention in August - to make their choice by Friday.

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alshain

at 12:35 on June 4th, 2008

Obama actually did fill nearly the entire arena (both decks), not just the staging area for the cameras. The empty patch on the left of the frame is only because the view from those seats were blocked by the media platform.

alshain has contributed a photo to this story.

Amy Judd

at 13:51 on June 4th, 2008

Obama picks a Kennedy to help him choose a VP

Obama himself moved to link himself more closely with a young Democratic hero of a half-century ago, picking President Kennedy's daughter Caroline to help him choose a vice president.

publik18

at 13:52 on June 4th, 2008

Barack Obamawith his wife Michelle after claiming victory. Barack Obama has made history by seizing the Democratic nomination and becomes the first African-American to run for president of the United States.

publik18 has contributed a photo to this story.

SarahDeer

at 15:05 on June 4th, 2008

I wanted to capture the crowd's reaction when he declared victory!

SarahDeer has contributed a photo to this story.

Albert Milliron

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:22 on June 4th, 2008

Jarrett Martineau, I like this story. It's good stuff. he is a rock star for sure

taryn_lora

at 10:14 on September 8th, 2008

taryn_lora has contributed a photo to this story.

Darwin67

at 17:01 on June 4th, 2008

My daughter, Katie, an ardent Obama supporter smiles big for thie historic moment in US History. There were two winners in this election...Obama and future generations.

Darwin67 has contributed a photo to this story.

Minnesota PainterBoy

at 18:03 on June 4th, 2008

It was such a rush to be there.

Minnesota PainterBoy has contributed a photo to this story.

jakilevy

at 18:37 on June 4th, 2008

thank goodness! now we can focus on more important things, like politics

jakilevy has contributed a photo to this story.

krosemanphotos

at 18:40 on June 4th, 2008

June 3, 2000. I was testing some lighting and a backdrop for a photoshoot coming up. I was watching CNN at the time and witnessing as, throughout the evening, Obama's delegate count was pushing him toward the "magic number". I took this self-portrait as my tribute to the history that took place on that night. The first African American presidential candidate nominated by a major political party.

krosemanphotos has contributed a photo to this story.

Rhonda J Mangus

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:54 on June 4th, 2008

Jarrett Martineau, I like this story. It's good stuff.

mp3mpk

at 19:22 on June 4th, 2008

Barack Obama came to Chapel Hill's Dean E. Smith center on May 20th 2008 and brought along 19,000 of his supporters. In one of the biggest indoor events in the Obama campaign, the liberal stronghold of Chapel Hill was indeed a welcoming location for the candidate. (Jesse Helms once threatened to put a fence around it) The evening began with Music from a live band while people showed up hours early for the late night speech. The early speakers on the podium offering support included Congressman Mel Watt and Senatorial fixture David Price. A parade of speakers between 9 and 10:30 that night made the wait for Senator Obama seem interminable. Sam Perkins the NBA and former UNC standout was the next to last speaker. Seems they covered all their bases culturally at Carolina. Finally Senator Obama came out to raucus applause smiling and waving. He went straight to work and kept the platitudes to a minimum. Senator Obama covered the economy (the Bush tax breaks withdrawn, new incentives for the middle-class), the war(S)(let's get out of Iraq and win Afghanistan), restoring American foreign relations and goodwill abroad, strengthening and rebuilding the military, and reminding us all that ultimately this election was about alot of things but it was mostly about the people of America. Senator Obama is not about the quick-fix that solves nothing. Case in point the federal excise tax on gasoline. He was not for removing it. The short term gain would only be about twenty five dollars and the long term cost would be not conserving energy and not developing new energy resources. Hillary Clinton supports removal of this tax for the summer driving season to show her support for the middle class, but I am with Senator Obama on this. No short term "feel good" fixes. Let's solve the problem. All in all not alot of new ground here, not as many facts as Bill Clinton could muster in a nano-second, but very effective and inspiring stuff indeed.

mp3mpk has contributed a photo to this story.

jerkytourniquet

at 19:32 on June 4th, 2008

It was exciting to see Obama declare his victory live. I felt lucky to be one of the 17,000 people that made it into the venue (15,000 more were turned away).

jerkytourniquet has contributed a photo to this story.

netunno

at 19:38 on June 4th, 2008

netunno has contributed a photo to this story.

moonpost

at 19:56 on June 4th, 2008

I had a great view from the press pit floor while I was recording video for a documentary project. Glad to be witness to this amazing event.

moonpost has contributed a photo to this story.

efc

at 20:02 on June 4th, 2008

The lines started forming at lunch time. This is the scene at about 6pm.

efc has contributed a photo to this story.

incuvana

at 20:07 on June 4th, 2008

incuvana has contributed a photo to this story.

incuvana

at 20:09 on June 4th, 2008

I'm extremely proud of having been able to photograph a candidate who I feel truly represents the change this country deserves.

incuvana has contributed a photo to this story.

molly.severtson

at 20:42 on June 4th, 2008

I saw Barack Obama speak at a rally in Great Falls, Montana, on Friday, May 30. He was charismatic and passionate as always, but my biggest impression from seeing him in person was that he looked exhausted. He was gracious and shook a lot of hands after the speech, but I really just hoped that he could get some rest soon. Judging by his incredible performance in Minnesota last night, it looks like he got that rest!

For me, it was a true pleasure to see the man who I think will be the next President of the United States. He is brilliant, young, energetic and focused. I think he is an amazing leader.

I made this Wharhol-ized mosaic from a photo I took at the rally at bighugelabs.com. To me, the different colors and shades of the mosaic represent the fact that we all see Obama in our own way, through our own filter, and yet so many of us believe in him and are ready to rally behind him, no matter our race, our gender or our background. This middle-aged white woman from Montana is totally inspired!

molly.severtson has contributed a photo to this story.