Clinton Suspends Campaign, Endorses Obama

Response to Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech at the National Building Museum has been lauded as a one that makes her "a historic figure poised to have a bright future within the party."

Thousands gathered to support her as Clinton endorsed Sen. Barack Obama: "The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength, and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United States.... I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me."

Clinton positioned herself in the campaign as someone running for president who happened to be a woman, not as a woman running for president. But in this speech, she directly addressed gender and reminded the nation that we benefit from the struggles of those who came before us, a lesson that I did not understand when I was in my 20s:

I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities that my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about her daughter's future.

To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and their mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect....

To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours...

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.

Speech Text; Poll: Should Obama Pick Clinton As His Running Mate?

Round-Up:
Deborah White, Hillary Did What She Must, and Will Be Justly Rewarded:

And she did it as best she could, given her plentiful reserves of pride and anger, narcissism, martyrdom and Clintonian self-pity.

Joe Gandleman at the Moderate Voice:

Clinton’s rousing speech was a professionally crafted in terms of content, masterfully delivered in terms of style, and perfectly calibrated to turn some initial anti-Obama rumblings when she endorsed Obama into cheers for Obama at the end. She tried to shift her supporters over to Obama, arguing that her goals are his goals and are their goals. And the plea for unity was delivered with force and sincerity.

Clinton once again displayed what we have noted at TMV before: out of all of the candidates who first began running for President in 2007 in either party, she is the one who has most grown as an actual campaigner. And in this speech, she showed that she has also blossomed as a campaign speaker: the speech ranks as one of her most perfectly and sincerely delivered speeches.

The New York Times:

In her last rally as a presidential candidate, Mrs. Clinton expressed deep gratitude to the voters. who had cast ballots for her. She suspended her campaign, rather than officially ending it. That’s a technicality that will allow her to raise money to retire her debt and to control the delegates she won. It is not an indication that she has any intention of resuming it....

Mrs. Clinton offered nothing less than a full-throated endorsement for and embrace of Mr. Obama and his candidacy. She has said many times that she would work her heart out for the nominee, and aides said she knew that now was the time to begin to show it.

ABC News:

"I don't think that it has completely set in yet," said Karen Defilippi, 25, a Clinton supporter who quit her job at a university in Washington last August to work for Clinton's campaign in Iowa and other primary states.

Defilippi, who is now out of a job, defended Clinton's decision to wait until Wednesday to acknowledge Obama's victory.

"It was just a little too soon for people," said Defilippi. "Her supporters are strong supporters, and I don't think they were ready to accept it."

Watch the speech at the BBC.