(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama and MyDD)

As a Clinton supporter, I think I had it wrong for a long time.

I heard Obama supporters talking about a new kind of politics - a kind which incorporated hope and change. For some reason, I decided this was a silly notion; I scoffed at Barack Obama's message: It was too idealistic, too vague. What did "Vote Hope" really mean? How had Obama rallied such a massive base of support around the nebulous concept of "hope"? Maybe that's part of what used to frustrate me - I simply didn't understand. Did his supporters believe his campaign would always stay positive? Every politician has to fight back against the opposition. They all get down in the mud, so didn't that make Obama just another typical politician?

Last week, after Barack Obama became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, it caused me to pause and reflect on the long road that was taken to get there and also, the long road I had traveled along as well. Over the last year and a half, I have traveled thousands of miles across many states to see Senator Obama speak and to campaign for him as well. When Sen. Obama talks about that whisper in Springfield, IL on that frigid February morn, I know what he is talking about. I was there. My roommates and I were the first ones there. We had driven 10 hours from Norman, OK to see history be made.

Photo taken by the Hillbilly Report after we arrived around 2 a.m. and the media was setting up.

The Old State Capitol at dusk.

My long story after the fold.

I talked to my best buddy on the phone yesterday about Tuesday night’s historic moment. Our boy Obama would be the Democratic nominee in this year’s presidential election.

"Were people talking at your office?" he asked me.

"Not really. They aren’t the politically oriented type, for the most part. And there isn’t anybody who talks about politics in the office."

"They weren’t saying anything?"

"Dude, there are only two black people in my office – me and the other guy. Most of the others are Republicans. Or they just don’t give a damn."

Remember me from last night? "Maybe it's the alcohol, but I would be Ok with Clinton as the VP!" My excuse: I am a happy drinker!  I also have one of those great female traits: EMPATHY for others, which obviously Hillary lacks. But as always, you can count on Hillary to be Hillary.

The REWIND button on my remote control is my new best friend. I was still pushing it at two o’clock in the morning, hitting PLAY right where Senator Barack Obama soberly intoned "new and better day to America", so I could hear him say "I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States" just one more time before I went to bed.

Usually, on primary night I am eager to see the comments by the talking heads, mainly to give some sense of perspective to the information about the Democratic primaries that I regularly gather on the internet. But last night, after the panelists on the CNN set started dissecting Obama’s speech – "why didn’t he say anything about being the first African American candidate?" – I hit REWIND for the first time, releasing it just after the thunderous applause had died down before the Illinois senator began to speak to the crowd in Minnesota.

I've seen you across the blogosphere this primary season.  Truth be told, I've been watching you since that cold November night in 2006 when my party took control of Congress.  Your hissy fits have provided me so much amusement these last few years.  

Watching you desperately cling to worn out talking points.  Your wild eyed hysteria at every minor gaffe from a Democratic candidate regardless of the inanity of the situation.  Listening to your crazy conspiracy theories about how Obama is a super powerful Muslim sleeper agent who is going to eat our children while we sleep.  Who can pick a favorite out of all of the stupid things you've tried these past weeks, months, and years?  

But I think it's time you and I had a heart to heart chat.  And before you follow me over the fold... I just want you to know... this is going to hurt you alot more than it will hurt me.

I supported John Edwards when his candidacy began.  And when he announced he would no longer run, I felt as though someone had ripped my heart out.  I think I mourned as if he'd been a friend or family member.  (Okay, make that a friend.  You all know too much about how I feel towards family.)

I had reservations about Barack Obama.  He's an elegant, eloquent man of great intelligence.  He has had an amazing political career at a young age.  And he has solid principles and goals.  However, for a while I considered him a better-spoken, smarter version of Shrub--all talk and no action.  Too glib.  Too charming.

Barack Obama has, however, shown a toughness under that charm.

He has also won the delegates he needs to become the Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States.

Tonight Barack Obama gave us what we have longed for.  What we have worked for.  What we have donated for.  What we have cried and whooped for.

He gave us himself as our Nominee.

The other two big threads in the rec list were starting to hammer my browser, so I hope we can move the discussion here.
BoBo2020's mothership here.
davidkc's follow-up here.

Please use those threads to read up on the day's previous delegate gains and endorsements.

My husband and I can hardly wait til tommorow till we can head down to the Excel center to see/hear/feel Barrack Obama declaire himself our nominee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update 1
6:30 Thought for the morning after a restless night sleep
Enough with the foreplay- I want some climax!

Update 2-
Husband rode down tro check out the lines -just sent me a photo via cell phone that shows ALL the network trucks lined up around the excel center already!
Will add his description of people volume on his return.
Update 3- no one in line yet

Obviously it seems that the floodgates are open and tomorrow is the Obama celebration we have been waiting for (though to use cliche from sports.. winning tomorrow means nothing.. its all about the White House).

Let's take a step back and applaud Hillary for what she has done.  Seriously.. she won NY, NJ, OH, PA, CA, and TX.  And some swing states like NH and NM.  She has made popular vote very close (even if you dont count  FL, and MI) It is the closest a woman has come to the White House. Ever. Sure she had all the infrastructure of the Bill Clinton machine.  Let's forget that for a moment.  She accomplished a lot.  We cannot entirely ignore her wins as trivial. Yes, Obama will likely coast to wins in NY, NJ. and CA.  But she has strong supporters who are passionate just as we are.  And we must remember that in many of her supporters is a Democrat in the heart.. a Democrat that we need.

By the Bard of Wilmette from Eyes on Obama:

Regardless how how you felt about Hillary Clinton's assassination comment, Obama supporters should be careful in their response out of pure self-interest.

EyesonObama.com needs your help to petition the remaining uncommitted superdelegates to endorse Senator Obama. Please visit the site and sign the petition. We gathered about 8,000 signatures to date, we need your help. We have a list of uncommitted superdelegates we'd like to send signed petitions to. We just need another 62 delegates to pledge for Senator Obama and make him the Democratic Nominee.

Hillary Clinton won Kentucky (which is 91% white) and West Virginia (95% white), predominantly white states. She proudly boasts that she is the electable one because she can carry the white hard-working, lower educated demographic. She just had to play the "redneck" card.

Certainly by now the Clintons have some knowledge of what went wrong for them this election year. In my opinion, their campaign was a victim of overconfidence and bad strategy.

I can just image in private Clinton's campaign strategists - Mark Penn - had mapped out a victory scenario that envisioned her wrapping up this election by Super Tuesday.
 

They began their journey with what appeared to be insurmountable advantages, but all of them slowly evaporated one by one as the campaign dragged on far longer than anyone could have anticipated.

People are asking: What went wrong for Clinton? I thoroughly enjoyed this article on time.com, because it answers the question. It outlines five very real mistakes the Clintons made which ultimately caused her to lose the nomination. Let me share them with you.

Andrea Mitchell is the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News.  It's a position she has held since November 1994. She has been covering the Clinton's campaign in this year's democratic presidency election.

There was a breaking news report on May 16, 2008. While on the Morning Joe Decision '08 show, Mitchell reported that Clinton's camp realizes it's over. All of them know Clinton can't win this democratic nomination but they are just going through the emotions.

If you watch the TM, you undoubtedly have heard about Obama's lead in every conceivable metric, but what they refuse to tell you, is that Hillary's campaign is leading by a 3 to 1 margin in the most important measure (according to her campaign)... unicorn tears. That's right, while she trails by almost 200 delegates (including John Edwards'), she leads by over 200 million unicorn tears. She is currently in possession of over 600 million confirmed unicorn tears against a paltry 196 million UNCONFIRMED unicorn tears amassed by the Obama campaign. While she has provided certificates of authenticity for 599,996,648 unicorn tears (as of time of post), Barack has yet to authenticate a single one. Suspicious? Andrea Mitchell thinks so. For even more reasons to doubt the viability of Obama's candidacy, follow me below the fold.

The talk of Clinton being Obama's VP has resurfaced since her disappointed supporters are threatening to vote for McCain instead of Sen. Barack Obama in the general election. According to the latest Gallup poll, 28% of Clinton's supporters say they will vote for McCain over Obama; and 19% of Sen. Obama's supporters say they will vote for McCain over Clinton. But I am certain all of this will change when November gets here. Since Bush's approval rating is 28%, which is the lowest ever, and McCain is much of the same; democrats, independents and republicans alike will be very clear who they need to vote for. Everyone will recognize that Sen. Obama is this nation's best chance for ALL Americans to experience shared prosperity.

AT PRESENT, THE MOST ubiquitous conversation in America is about the next Democratic presidential nominee.  Almost every story on TV, in the news, and in the blogosphere advances a compelling reason to support either Senator Clinton or Obama.  But, amidst all of the rationalization and speculation, even the most seasoned pundits dance around what everyone knows is the real determining factor for who the next president should be--whose candidacy would yield the best inaugural poem?