Obama seals nomination!

AAPP says: The sweet taste of victory. How sweet it is. Hillary says "I am open to it" regarding the Vice Presidency. I say Oh, Hell No!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois sealed the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, a historic step toward his once-improbable goal of becoming the nation's first black president. A defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton maneuvered for the vice presidential spot on his fall ticket.

Obama's victory set up a five-month campaign with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a race between a 46-year-old opponent of the Iraq War and a 71-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war and staunch supporter of the current U.S. military mission.

McCain was plainly eager for the race to begin, and accused his younger rival of voting "to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job" in Iraq.

In remarks prepared for delivery in New Orleans, McCain agreed with Obama that the presidential race would focus on change. "But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change, between going forward and going backward," he added.

The newly minted Democratic nominee-in-waiting arranged an evening appearance in St. Paul, Minn., sending McCain an unmistakable message by claiming his victory in the very hall where the Arizonan will accept his party's nomination in early September.

Obama sealed his nomination, according to The Associated Press tally, based on primary elections, state Democratic caucuses and delegates' public declarations as well as support from 19 delegates and "superdelegates" who privately confirmed their intentions t/o the AP. It takes 2,118 delegates to clinch the nomination at the convention in Denver this summer, and Obama had 2,128 by the AP count.

Obama, a first-term senator who was virtually unknown on the national stage four years ago, defeated Clinton, the former first lady and one-time campaign front-runner, in a 17-month marathon for the Democratic nomination.

His victory had been widely assumed for weeks. But Clinton's declaration of interest in becoming his ticketmate was wholly unexpected.

She expressed it in a conference call with her state's congressional delegation after Rep. Nydia Velazquez, predicted Obama would have great difficulty winning the support of Hispanics and other voting blocs unless the former first lady was on the ticket.

"I am open to it" if it would help the party's prospects in November, Clinton replied, according to a participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because the call was private.

UPDATE CNN reports

Source: Clinton raised VP issue

Clinton is reportedly interested in being Obama’s running mate.

(CNN) – Hillary Clinton herself directly raised the issue of serving as Clinton's running mate in a conference call with New York lawmakers earlier Tuesday, a source who was on the call tells CNN's Candy Crowley.

According to the source, Clinton told those on the call that if asked by Sen. Barack Obama, she would be interested in serving as his running mate. That comment was not in response to a particular question.

The Clinton campaign maintains the New York senator merely said she would do whatever is in the party's best interest, and that her comments Tuesday are no different than what she has been saying for weeks.

The source also said all the lawmakers on the call thought that Clinton needed to be on the ticket. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, one of the call's participants, said that Clinton needed to be on the ticket in order for Latino voters to cast ballots for Barack Obama.