United We Finally Stand: A look at the 2008 Presidential Race

Thursday, 26 June 2008 19:23 Written by  Jazzy Davenport

After 16 months of campaigning, the Democratic Party finally has a presumptive nominee, but it was not without a fight.

 


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On June 3, 2008, Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., became the first African American presidential nominee in the history of the United States of America. After 22 debates; excluding then later including votes from Michigan and Florida; late night reporting of Lake County’s votes; sound bytes of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Rev. Michael Pfleger; Senator Clinton’s, D-N.Y., misspeaking about sniper attacks; and 53 contests––the party has finally united.

On May 31, 2008, the Democratic National Party made a decision to count half of the votes from Michigan and Florida’s primaries that were originally excluded because they failed to follow the rules by pushing their primary date up. The fight to count these votes was something Senator Clinton had been fighting for since the original decision was made. This decision would change the number of delegates needed to win from 2025 to 2118. On the following Tuesday, June 3, 2008, the last two primaries were held in Montana, where Senator Obama won, and South Dakota, a state that went to Senator Clinton. But this wasn’t just any other primary night. Before the polls had even closed, Senator Obama only needed a handful of delegates to capture the nomination, and he had reached the magic number before all of the votes had even come in.

All three presidential candidates would speak that night. Senator McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican nominee, spoke first from Louisiana trying to separate himself from George Bush’s policies, which he has been accused of embracing. In his speech McCain also praised Senator Clinton for her compassion and tenacity and criticized Senator Obama for his policies and for “buying in to so many failed ideas.” Senator Clinton later addressed her supporters in New York, but did not concede to nor endorse Senator Obama as many had reported she might do. Senator Obama also spoke to his supporters from St. Paul, Minnesota, and even without Senator Clinton’s concession he announced that he would be the presidential nominee.  Just a few days later, in an attempt to unite the party, Senator Clinton addressed her supporters in Washington D.C., officially suspending her presidential campaign and throwing her full support to Senator Barack Obama. Although she had battled him for five months, she now plans to fight to make sure that he “walks through that Oval Office on January 20, 2009” and urged her supporters to do the same.

Now as Senator Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, goes head to head with Senator John McCain in the general election, his next step is to pick a Vice President. The presidential hopeful has asked Caroline Kennedy to assist in this search, and after running a formidable campaign Senator Hillary Clinton is sure to be on the short list.

Jazzy Davenport

Jazzy Davenport

Jazzy Davenport is a GMO staff writer and a student at Columbia College Chicago in pursuit of a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Journalism with concentration in Reporting and Writing Sports.

She can be reached at Editor@glossmagazineonline.com