Day 3

Let me just say before you read what I have stolen from NPR, Barack Obama has just made his "surprise" walk on with Joe Biden. It's the first time I have been moved to tears by the future President. Acknowledging the Clintons was a very nice touch, and moved me to tears.
I am fully prepared to be overwhelmed tomorrow night by his speech. It will truly be a momentous event.

NPR.org, August 27, 2008 · Sen. Barack Obama, the son of a mother from Kansas and a father from Kenya, made history Wednesday, becoming the first African-American to capture a major party's presidential nomination.

The nomination was by acclamation, following a dramatic appearance on the convention floor by Sen. Hillary Clinton, whom Obama narrowly defeated after a long and at times divisive primary campaign.

Clinton, who on Tuesday night sought to unify the party behind Obama in a speech in which she declared, "Barack Obama is my candidate, and he must be our president," again called for unity Wednesday, as she moved to give him the nomination by voice vote.

"Let us declare together in one voice, right here and right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate, and he will be our president," Clinton told the delegates on floor. It was a gesture that moved many in the convention hall to tears.

Later, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, delivered a forceful speech in which he began by asserting, "I am here first to support Barack Obama."

Clinton's and Obama's names were both formally placed in nomination shortly after Wednesday's session of the Democratic National Convention began. There were nominating and seconding speeches, and then the traditional roll call of the states began.

As the roll call reached New Mexico, that state's delegates yielded to Illinois, Barack Obama's home state, which in turn yielded to New York. As TV cameras focused on the floor, Hillary Clinton walked through the throng and asked that the rules be suspended and Obama be nominated by acclamation.

The chair of the convention, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then asked the convention for those in favor of the motion to vote "aye." A chorus of "ayes" rang through the hall. Pelosi then asked if there were any nays. Before anyone so inclined could respond, Pelosi banged down her gavel, settling the question.

That ended a delicate, drawn-out process between the Obama and Clinton camps. Clinton wanted to make sure her supporters got their due. Obama's campaign wanted to avoid divisive grumbling that it feared would hamper his efforts to win the White House in November.