http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=381961
Obama clinches Democratic presidential nomination
WASHINGTON, June 3 KYODO
Sen. Barack Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday,
moving past rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, as the unusually long, hot primary
season wound up with the Montana and South Dakota contests.
''Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of
another -- a journey that will bring a new and better day to America,'' Obama
said.
''Tonight, I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee
for president of the United States,'' he told cheering supporters in St. Paul,
Minnesota, the site of the Republican convention in September.
A first-time senator from Illinois, Obama reached the 2,118 delegates
needed to claim victory as he drummed up support from a steady flow of
uncommitted superdelegates and elected delegates in Montana and South Dakota.
Obama's nomination will be formalized at the Democratic Party's national
convention Aug. 25-28 in Denver, Colorado, pitting him against presumptive
Republican nominee John McCain, an Arizona senator, in the Nov. 4 general
election.
The development effectively dashed the hopes of Clinton, a senator from
New York and former first lady, to become the first female president in the
U.S. history.
Clinton congratulated Obama and his supporters ''on the extraordinary race
that they have run'' but stopped short of formally conceding.
''Now the question is, where do we go from here?...This has been a long
campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight,'' she told backers in New
York City.
''In the coming days, I'll be consulting with supporters and party leaders
to determine how to move forward with the best interest of our party and our
country guiding my way,'' Clinton said.
U.S. media organizations reported earlier that Clinton told congressional
colleagues she would consider joining Obama as his running mate if it would
help the Democrats win the White House.
Obama and Clinton split Tuesday's primaries -- Obama carried Montana and
Clinton took South Dakota, U.S. media reported. Thirty-one delegates were at
stake.
By the Associated Press count, Obama had 2,144 delegates as of Tuesday
night, compared with Clinton's 1,919.5. The numbers include superdelegates --
party officials and elected leaders who can vote as they please.
This year's White House campaign is the most open contest in more than
half a century, with no incumbent president or vice president seeking their
party's nomination.
==Kyodo
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