Convention could mark the end of several eras
DENVER · On Monday, Ted Kennedy may have promised to be in the Senate in January, but many in the Pepsi Center thought his appearance at the Democratic National Convention signaled the end of an era.
It was Kennedy's departure from the stage.
On Wednesday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton met with her loyalists at the Colorado Convention Center, and it felt like the same thing.
The event was the "I release you" meeting at which Clinton formally told hundreds of delegates they were free to cast votes for Barack Obama. Some would vote for her anyway later in the day, but before they did, Clinton gave them one last emotional moment.
As she took the stage, hundreds of picture-taking cell phones were raised, a last-gasp photo op.
"This has been a joy," she told delegates, some of whom were crying. "Yes, we didn't make it, but we had a good time trying." Without much more preamble, Clinton said, "I'm here to release you."
The resounding response was "Nooooooooooooo."
"Many of you feel the responsibility to represent the voters in your state," she said, adding, "I am not telling you what to do." Obama supporters would point to that as evidence that Clinton's backing for Obama is tepid. Those who held out for Clinton said they didn't come all the way to Denver to be told for whom they were supposed to vote.
"I can still vote for her," said Awilda Marquez, a delegate from Denver. "This is where history is made." History, indeed. Before Obama would make history later in the day, there had to be a long goodbye for Clinton, whose backers were no less zealous than Obama's, just less numerous.
Angela Trigg, a 41-year-old delegate from Georgia, said being able to vote "for a lot of us brings closure." Trigg said she won't hesitate to vote for Obama in November.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said, "The hurt that some of us feel will be so much worse if McCain is elected." Of course, if McCain wins Clinton will be waiting in the wings to take another run at the White House. If Obama wins, Clinton appears destined to become the next Ted Kennedy - the aging senior senator related to a president but whose own aspirations fell short.
An Obama victory means Hillary Clinton would have to wait eight years for another presidential bid. She wouldn't be too old, but eight years is an eternity in politics; the ground will shift greatly during that time, other Democrats will emerge and Clinton's time probably has passed. Clinton was a trouper Wednesday, telling her delegates that "What is so important is that by the end of the day we will nominate Barack Obama and Joe Biden." Later on the convention floor, Clinton herself put an end to a roll call vote by calling for Obama's nomination by acclamation. Sure, the moment was orchestrated like everything else at the convention, but it's hard to understand what else she could have done to unify Democrats.
Bill Clinton added another push: "Everything I learned in my eight years as president and in the work I've done since in America and across the globe has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job."
There were pundits suggesting Hillary Clinton was not passionate enough in her Obama endorsement. They are the ones who prefer a cheerleader in a prom dress and have trouble envisioning a woman as a strong leader.
Maybe there will be fewer of them the next time around.
Contact Noreen at 636-0363 or noreen@gazette.com. He appears every other Friday on KOAA's Comcast Channel 9 at 4 p.m.
