Historic

For the first time ever in the Western World, an African American candidate has been nominated by a major political party for the nation's highest office. History was written yesterday, when Senator Barack Obama clinched the number of delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

This is nothing short of an unprecedented, historic moment for every single person living on this planet. There are 15-year-olds in Kenya celebrating right now. The news of Sen. Obama's lock of the nomination was on the front page of every single newspaper that went out today. This goes to show that no matter what, people can achieve greatness through hard work. We can truly say that America is the land of Opportunity.

Unfortunately, most news stories are more concerned with speculation on what Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's next move will be than a monumental moment in American history. When asked on whether the Obama campaign would comment on Sen. Clinton's remark that she would be "open" to the vice presidential slot, chief campaign strategist David Axelrod said, "We just want to savor this night."

And the night was savored by Barack Obama. In St. Paul, Minnesota, the location of the Republican National Convention in September, Obama formally announced that he is the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. Obama was very gracious to Sen. Clinton, frequently powdering her with compliments. He focused on the differences between himself and Sen. John McCain, as he pivots to the general election. Sen. McCain, in a speech the night before, said the general election was the choice between "the right kind of change and the wrong kind of change." In addition, Obama spoke about issues that could be considered Sen. Clinton's strong suit, such as universal health care reform.

Now, the race is between Barack Obama and John McCain. Some say that Obama has several divisions to heal, as some Clinton supporters yelled "Den-ver! Den-ver!" during her speech last night (Denver, Colorado is the sight of the Democratic National Convention). I have told this to several people and cannot reiterate it enough. If you are satisfied with the way this country is going, vote for John McCain. If not, vote for Obama. The choice is pretty cut-and-dry, actually.

The Clinton supporters who are supposedly going to vote for McCain are hypocrites. First of all, they say that they are Democrats; and they are not going to support their own party. Second of all, they have said that they are tired of the old Bush policies that have plagued this country. And now they are going to vote for the candidate that has voted 95% in line with George W. Bush? If John McCain is elected, then this country get what it deserves.

Yesterday will be viewed as the day in which Americans decided to get passed the so-called justice of the Jena Six and the Sean Bell incident to elect a man who represents change for this country.