CLINTON GRACIOUSLY COMES TO THE PARTY

“This isn’t exactly the party I planned but I sure like the company.”

With that, the (if not long awaited, at least 'awaited") concession speech began from the only real competition of the Obama for President campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In her usual "running late" fashion, she filled the National Building Museum in Washington to the rafters with supporters, and interested observers of history as she officially suspended her campaign, although stopping short of releasing her delegates.

What was to follow was six minutes of stirring and ringing endorsements for Senator Obama, calls for party unity, as well as a running dialogue of the milestones she, and her fellow competitor achieved over the barriers previously experienced by racial and gender bias.

Most notable was her significant quotes underscoring her commitment to seeing Obama elected in November, underscored with "To those who may want to dwell on what may have been, I implore you to not go there. “Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward. Life is too short, time is too precious, the stakes are too high.”“I will work my heart out to make sure Sen. Obama is our next president and I hope all of your will join me in that.”

Clinton paid tribute to her legions of women supporters, calling for barriers of race and gender to be torn down, and vowing that one day a woman would be elected to the country's highest office.
"There are no acceptable limits, and there are no acceptable prejudices in the 21st century in American history," she said. "Although we did not completely break down the glass ceiling preventing a woman from being elected to the Presidency, that ceiling has 18 million new cracks in it (referring, of course to the 18 million votes she received in general primaries, which was, to her credit more than Senator obama received in non-caucus contests).

All in all, her speech was everything the Obama camp wanted and needed, if not much, much more, ending the ridiculous speculation that somehow Senator Clinton would do anything less in the name of party unity. In the end, all they really needed was the following, uttered half way through her speech...The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand, is to take our energy, our passions, our strengths and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States," Clinton told a concession rally."Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. "I endorse him and throw my full support behind him."

"I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama

as you have for me."