The Invincible Woman concedes – Thanks Hillary

The sound of the sudden rain woke me up from sleep, and I felt like I needed to rush to the loo, except that I felt excruciating pain when I stepped off my bed. The pain from slipping on a tennis ball this morning has arrived.

So, I couldn’t get back to sleep and decided to check on Hillary Clinton’s expected concession to (and endorsement for) Barack Obama in the Democratic Presidential Race. Yes, folks, Hillary Clinton has suspended her campaign and thrown her support behind the first African-American Presidential candidate in the United States.

I have been a staunch Hillary fan (yes, Nicholas, you can laugh now) and wanted to watch the speech live but considering I have to be up at 6ish in the morning today, it wasn’t an option. Looks like a massive crowd showed up for her though.

Well, I missed it by just a few minutes but judging from this transcript I found, she rocked. The speech was classic Hillary – little anecdotes, lots of references to the trail she’s blazed for women and of course, in pledging her support for Obama, spoke fondly of the African-American community that have for so many years supported her and her husband (and vice versa).

My favourite lines:

Thank you very, very much. Well, this isn’t exactly the party I’d planned, but I sure like the company.

Eighteen million of you, from all walks of life … women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African- American and Caucasian … rich, poor, and middle class, gay and straight, you have stood with me. And I will continue to stand strong with you every time, every place, in every way that I can.

You know, I’ve been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. And during those … 40 years, our country has voted 10 times for president. Democrats won only three of those times, and the man who won two of those elections is with us today.

I am a woman and, like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us.

Children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States.

Say what you will about the Iron Lady, she has made history with this campaign – and hopefully, has opened the doors for a woman to someday become President of the United States. One of the articles I read counted the Hillary mentioned Obama’s name 13 times – I hope this is enough to kick some Republican ass in November.

Obama’s supporters have welcomed the move with open arms, while party leaders, including House speaker Nancy Pelosi, have praised the campaign she ran. Her speech gathered rave reviews, while the media have started the analysing.

So long Hillary, and thanks for all the fish.

4.30am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)

Tags: Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, US Presidential Elections