Barack Obama wins Democratic nomination
DENVER -- To the soul song "Love Train," Democrats formally nominated Barack Obama late this afternoon as the partys nominee for president.
New York, home to losing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, was given the ceremonial honor of putting Obama over the top at exactly 5:48 p.m. Chicago Time.
(AP)
Just before Sen. Hillary Clinton "in the spirit of unity" moved to make the vote for Obama unanimous, Mayor Daley spoke.
The home of Obama, the state that will be home to the 2016 Olympics, Daley said, defers to New York.
Clinton moved to make the nomination unanimous, and the delegates made history by a voice vote, nominating Obama by acclimation.
The area burst into song and dancing. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th), standing in the front row of seats, boogied to the music and hugged the Rev. Willie Barrow. Chicago lawyer Tina Tchen, an Obama delegate sitting next to the Jacksons, wiped tears from her eyes.
Three minutes later, after thunderous applause and chants of "Yes We Can" and "O-bam-a" died down, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, "It is with great pride that I announce that Barack Obama is the Democratic presidential nominee by acclamation."
"Hillary Clinton has been a class act throughout," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said after she moved to make the nomination unanimous.
"What she did last night, what she did just now, I think solidifies any doubts whatsoever," Daley said.
Daley, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Gov. Blagojevich all sat together as Daley deferred to New York. Attorney General Lisa Madigan stood just next to the mayor as he spoke.