I agree with you.  The only thing that helps me a little (and not very much at that) is thinking about how my Hillary-supporting friends feel right now.  For them, tonight was probably not the sureal and incredible experience it was for me.  I don't think they started crying tears of joy when Obama officially crossed that delegate threshold to clinch the nomination.  But they also haven't been a part of this movement.  Its not your typical political campaign.  Certainly not your typical presidential campaign.  Hillary knows that though and she should have and could have stepped aside and led the way for all of her supporters.  However, that would have been out of character.  Not because she's self-serving, but because of how she defines the role and responsibility of a leader.  She always says, I'm here to "help" you.  Bascially, what that means to me is that I'm your savior because you can't do it for yourself (or you'd rather let the government do it).  So, tonight she's consoling her supporters.  This whole time they've been fighting for HER because of what she can do for them.  Whereas, we've been fighting for US and what we can do for ourselves.  She's assuring them that it wasn't all in vain and unfortunately that means continuing to spout her misleading talking points about the popular vote, etc.  

What we have accomplished thus far is historical.  Not just for the obvious reasons, but because of the way in which we've gone about it.  The campaign is powered by ordinary people in every single sense.  That's a big risk to take in many ways, but tonight we really can say that its possible for people to come together, to work together, to stand up and say that this is our country, our life, and that we want something different and we're willing to fight for it.  I think we really have the beginning for a national progressive movement.  And I don't think we need Hillary Clinton to accomplish it.  Yes, it'd be great if she could jump on board and concede that we're on to something and its too big and too important for her to stand in the way.  But the fact is that she can't stand in the way if we don't let her.  If we take all our energy and register voters, talk to people the way we have been for the last 16 months, we will be successful.  

This is our moment.

Great perspective, Jeannie, thanks.  You are right--this is our moment.

I really did hope to hear something completely different from Hillary tonight though.  Not concession.  Not admission of defeat.  But an expression of hope, optimism, and shared values and goals wouldn't have been too much to ask.

Instead, I heard a self-serving diatribe that in my mind, on such a massively historic night, was truly insulting and arrogant.

I guess I didn't expect her to continue that way.  I really thought she was going to recognize the gravity of the opportunity.

Boy was I wrong.  Even if she did recognize it, she willfully chose to ignore it.  I honestly did not expect a concession, just some spirit of unity.  Didn't even get that...

But alas, your point is well-taken.

This is our moment.

I'm curious as to what this movement is and what it entails.  Is it like some other historical movement (like suffrage, temperance, worker's rights, civil rights, etc...)?  

I voted in the primary for Obama.  But I don't feel like I am a part of a movement.  I understand the historical nature of these events.  But I don't feel like this is a movement.  I am uncertain whether any of this energy continues beyond election day.  And if it does, what is the focus of the energy?  What objective does it seek achieve?

It's plain and simple.  It's a movement to give government back to the people.  Our government for a long, long time, has not been of, by, or for the people.  That's what "the movement" is about, for me.

Other thoughts?

Our guy won the nomination.  Buy Hillary and the cable news networks chose to pretend it was Hillary's moment.  And, of course, John McCain's.  I gave up waiting for Barack to come on cable news.  We had to sit through too much sludge to get there.  McShame used Barack's night to spread dmore fiction.  Hillary put forth her mythical "lead."  And the media is only to happy to let her get away with it.  Only Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann, Howard Fineman, and Richard Wolfe seem to even notice the nonsensical fable Hillary keeps spinning.

Last night was disgusting. But it would have been only part disgusting (McShame) had not Hillary given the media her ungracious non-concession.  For months she has fed her troops nonsense.  She is percecuted.  She is really ahead.  She is a "victim."  All the while, she and Bill and her Hillaryland apostles fanned the airwaves to keep her so-over campaing "alive" and the media allowed it.  They did so to be able to spread her fiction in order to hurt Barack Obama in November.

If Barack caves to the her and the ruinous ways she has dissed him, he leaves himself wide open to criticism later.  She has given the GOP their talking points and I do not think she deserves the VP slot.  She has shown she is untrustworthy.  And so, I really hope he selects his own choice and that that choice is not Hillary Clinton.

We all need a break from Hillary.,  And her still-clinging-on supporters need to get a grip and a reality check.

Correction above: only too happy

bothering to listen to any of the speeches tonight -- although I did read the Obama speech.  

Clinton never acknowledged Obama's wins during the primary season -- at least going back as far as South Carolina -- so I kind of expected more of the same tonight.  Based on what you're saying and some other accounts I've heard it sounds like it was pretty much par for course for Clinton.

As far as the VP thing goes, my personal inclination is NO -- if at all possible.  Ultimately though it's a matter of what makes the strongest ticket going into November.  Clinton has some very real pluses -- as well as some pretty nasty negatives.  My sense is that the the party nominee and his team will vet the alternatives and weigh the options thoroughly.  

I believe Clinton can force a measure on the floor with something like 1,100 delegate votes -- this assumes that the Clintons retain at least 800 of the delegates currently in her corner through the summer.  I don't think this is a given.

I wish I had done the same thing.

Honestly, as of this morning, I am calmed down considerably and not quite as upset with Hillary as I was last night.  I was truly disappointed.

I know others have told me they liked what she had to say about her issues, and her belief in staying in and fighting in this race--and I heartily respect that and agree she did speak powerfully about the things which she clearly deeply cares about.

But where I, as an American and as a Democrat, felt that the speech fell SHARPLY short was in acknowledging her fellow Democrats who chose a slightly different path in this nomination, respecting their choice and work HONESTLY, and reaching out to all the factions of the party instead of insisting, as I felt the subtext of her speech did, that she is not done and is not about to recongize our nominee.

I felt the tone was far too arrogant.

I did NOT expect a concession.  I did not expect endorsement.  I did truly expect grace and positivity and hope, and instead was given bitterness and some evidence that she still holds contempt for the 18.5 million who supported Obama.

All the day-long hype about will she or won't she only works once.  It captured the attention of the 24 hour news cycle today, but after yet another shameless spectacle from Clinton, it won't work the next time.  The next speech might get a little attention, the speech after that will probably get none.

With each succeeding cynical move, Clinton's endless losing campaign will begin to remind us of the old SNL line that Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

Obama can put an instant stop to this garbage by interviewing VP candidates one after another starting tomorrow, and conspicuously not including Clinton.  While I appreciate his attempts to unify the party, Clinton demonstrated clearly tonight, as she has in the past, that she does not share that goal.

Someone told me, and I don't know if this is historically accurate, that the Japanese negotiated the terms of their surrender in WWII.  The Germans didn't, because they were conquered.  No, I'm not comparing the Clinton campaign to Nazi Germany.  But I don't think you get to dictate the terms of your surrender after you flat out lose.

Obama can demonstrate some leadership by just shutting this down.  Clinton is not going to hang onto more than a stubborn handful of even her pledged delegates for very long.

I'm not quite sure why Barack calls himself "Arthur", but here it is.

...I thought her speech last night was excellent.  Hillary was speaking to her supporters in her home state of New York, and I was most impressed with her demeanor and her words.

Now, let's get on with electing Barack Obama as President of the United States, regardless of whom he chooses for a running mate.

Thanks!

Steve

...fighting for the issues that drive her....YES!

But in terms of recognizing the significance of the historic moment for our nation, our party, and most importantly, restoring our government to reason, sanity, and effectiveness, sadly, sadly disappointing.

As a strong Democrat whose always loved the Clintons but chose to support Obama, I felt incredibly polarized in listening to her talk all about her, and why she still felt (after LOSING the nomination) that she should be the nominee.

Unforgiveable in my book.

I, too, have always tried to give both Clinton's the benefit of the doubt yet always come away disappointed.  Unfortunately, they will never put our country ahead of their selfish interests.

In 1992, it was about "the economy, stupid" and in 2008, it's about "Hillary, stupid."  We should not be so stupid.

Your sentiments exactly reflect my own.  At this awesome threshold in our tarnished national history, for the Clintons to have no appreciation for Mr. Obama is nuts, and I'm embarrassed for our party and for our country over the Clinton's antics.

But I won't let their lack of enthusiasm detract from our fantastic nominee, and all that he has accomplished in his scant 46 years.  As a white male of 41, I look at him as my own role model (though I'll never be a millionth of his stature).  He is what the world needs to first see when they think of us, and I'm proud of that, and I'm proud of the great people who have looked beyond the petty and the superficial to see the true value of the person.

I am so psyched for the fall election!

Thanks.

I am very excited about the general election too.  As someone who has always loved the Clintons, I will always look back at this election with some despair, however.

I know how the Clinton supporters feel having been an avid Dean supporter in 2004 and feeling with equal passion and determination that he was the man who we needed to lead us back to sanity.

When he was booted form the race so prematurely over something so incredibly irrelevant and stupid as a speech gaffe caught on a noise-reducing microphone, it was too much for me.

I think we have the best nominee we could have, and I look forward to an amazing election, regardless of whether the Clintons appear to respect our nominee or not.  I think they will, eventually, but last night did not help the matter.

I finally have a grip on myself after months of getting upset with Hillary and Bill Clinton.  

Every time I thought she would or should do something, she didn't.  And I would just lose it.  

About three weeks ago I finally said to myself why are you expecting her to deliver on something you know she is uncapabe of delivering on?  And that was the end of my frustration with Hillary Clinton.  

The Clinton's are going to do what is best for THEM and the hell with everyone else.    Why expect anything different?  Where is the eveidence to suggest otherwise?

We are all wasting time and energy discussing her - just ignore her from here on out.

And stop and take a moment and look at what we as Obama supporters have accomplished!  It is nothing short of mind blowing.  It is the political upset all all time, even bigger than Truman defeating Dewwy in 1948.  So spend some time and wallow in the mud, enjoy it, feel good about it, we all earned it.  

And take a few days and rest up and then get ready for this summer to register voters across thje state - that is what will turn Virginia blue.    

I think you made an excellent point.

I guess being that I tend to always give people the benefit of the doubt, and believe in the "goodness" of them, if you will, I really did hope to hear something much more magnanimous from Hillary.

You're right though--it was a bit naive of me to expect that.

I think the focus needs to be on Obama and McCain now--you're absolutely right...

It IS mind blowing. We should all be very proud of our candidate and our fellow Democrats for working hard to nominate Barack Obama -- the next president of the United States!

that the media and citizens of Hillaryland are feeding the expectation (no, demand) that she be offered the VP slot.  Barack should not let the media or the Clintons demand anything.  He should be polite, acknowledge their contributions IN THE PAST, and move on.

Then, perhaps we can get a break from her.  

I don't see why Hillary would want to be VP, much less stage a Machiavellian campaign for it.  I interpreted her statement that she would be "open" to it if she was asked to do it, as simply her first step towards party unity.  That she herself would be willing to go to work for Obama was a very strong signal to her supporters.  

I think the VP slot would be a dead end for Hillary, and I can't see why she would feel differently.  A younger person might view the VP slot as a stepping stone to the Presidency eight years in the future, but she is 60.  The VP has little real power or influence, other than what is granted by the President based on personal trust and confidence.  But Hillary would hardly be welcomed by Obama's inner circle.  In the Senate, she has a vote, and will have a chance to have real influence on issues she truly cares about.  Plus she has been campaigning already for a long time, and must be exhausted.  In Jim Webb's book he talked about the personal cost of running for office, and how at the end of his Senate campaign he felt like he was climbing out of a sewer.  If anything, that feeling must be greater for Hillary at this point.  Why would she want to go through the rigors of the general election campaign, for a dead-end job?        

indicates that Hillary very much DOES want to be VP.  So, whatever you or I (or anyone else) think, there it is...

I read this morning's newspaper too, before I wrote my post.  That's why I wrote it.  

There are some, like Robert Novak, who probably don't like the idea of the Democratic party unifying behind Obama.  Naturally, they are trying to throw a turd in the punch bowl, and want to frame it as Hillary "forcing" herself onto the ticket.  

Common sense tells us otherwise though.  Why would she want to be VP?  I don't see a motivation for it, other than if Obama himself were to ask her to do it on the basis that otherwise McCain might well win the general election.    

This story says no, FWIW
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...