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Obama Rewrites History, Clinches Nomination

Democratic senator and presidental nominee Barack Obama embraces fellow senator and running mate Joe Biden during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.
Democratic senator and presidental nominee Barack Obama embraces fellow senator and running mate Joe Biden during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.

History was made last night when the Democratic Party nominated Illinois Sen. Barack Obama as its candidate for president of the United States. He's the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party.

Both newly tapped vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, and former President Bill Clinton took to the Pepsi Center stage to rally behind Obama and encourage other Democrats to do the same.

But perhaps the more emotional high point came earlier yesterday as Sen. Senator Hillary Clinton set aside months of political rivalry and motioned to have Obama declared the Democratic nominee by acclamation.

Host Michel Martin checks in with guest host Cheryl Corley to offer analysis from the convention in Denver.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: August 28, 2008 at 5:25 PM EDT
The introduction to the audio version of this story describes Obama's nomination "by affirmation." He was nominated by acclamation.
Michel Martin is the weekend host of All Things Considered, where she draws on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member Stations.
Cheryl Corley is a Chicago-based NPR correspondent who works for the National Desk. She primarily covers criminal justice issues as well as breaking news in the Midwest and across the country.