I've been a Hillary Clinton supporter right from the start of this campaign. I have lived and breathed this campaign since it's inception. I have followed every word and every poll. I have cheered and cried and whinned and everything else that happens in a race like this one. I have made all the arguments about electability, and experience, and the meaning of hope and change, and Florida and Michigan. By now I could probably recite it all in my sleep. I have waited anxiously for each Tuesday, and watched each result with anticipation. It has been quite a ride.
I believe now that it is all over, we are better off as a party because of it. We are better off as a nation because of it. After all, even with it's flaws, we have had a chance to be part of a democratic process in action. Yes, this is certainly what democracy looks like, and I am very grateful to have played a part in it.
Now we have come to the midway point in this marathon, and it is said that when you reach the 13.1 mile point in the marathon, you really have just begun. And it is the same in this political marathon, we have just begun.
There are many here that need to be congratulated for working hard for their candidate, and standing by him/her during a difficult and bruising process. One side has won, and the other has lost, but we are all democrats, so in a way we all have won, and we all have lost.
I congratulate the backers of Barack Obama. He is a great candidate, an inspiring person, and a wonderful democrat. If anyone had any doubts about it, please try to find the speech he gave in Minnesota on Tuesday evening. In my view it was absolutely awesome. I am proud to have him as the candidate of the democratic party.
It is now also clear that we will have a united party going forward in this election. Hillary Clinton will unconditionally endorse Barack on Saturday, and at the same time she will urge all her supporters to do the same.
By now it may be trite to say, but this election was never about Hillary Clinton, and it was never about Barack Obama, but it was about all the people who inhabit this wonderful country that we reside in.
Because further it is about a nation that needs to end a war that should have never started. And it is about a country where too many people are still in need of good health care. And it is about an economy that needs to be turned around. And it's about a need to build alternative sources of new energy. And it is about rebuilding our nations infrastructure, so that no more Katrinas can ever happen. And it is about stopping the attack on your civil liberties, so that we can continue to watch and be part of democracy in action for generations to come.
There are some who have been on the side of Hillary Clinton, who in their despair have forgotten all this. They find themselves filled with disappointment and as a result are predicting doom for our ticket, or they are reaching towards John McCain. I implore all of you to stop and remember why you are a democrat. Remember what brought you to this party, and don't throw it all away for the likes of John McCain, and his band of neocons. Eight years has been more than enough of their policies.
So I ask all those who have been supporting Hillary Clinton to join in the fight against the republicans. Together we are an unstoppable force. We can retake the White House, and we can add 10 more Senate seats, and we can add 30 more House seats, but we can only do it if we are united.
As a former Hillary supporter, I will now give my full support to Barack Obama, and I am urging all Hillary supporters to join in this struggle for a democratic victory in November.
Cross-posted at http://www.mydd.com/...