Al Gore came out for Barack Obama last night at a giant rally in Detroit. Some estimates had the crowd at 20,000. The former vice president gave a fairly rousing speech that threatened to overshadow Obama's (where were these oratorical skills back when he was running for president?). Watch for yourself:

What do you think? Does Gore's endorsement mean anything for Obama in the long run?

This article neatly summarizes my feelings on Hillary's concession:

She didn't pretend to like or admire Obama. She didn't pretend she believes he would be a great President. She didn't say he was right on the issues. She never said he'd be a good commander in chief or would keep America safe.

...

But she had a job to do yesterday and she did it. Her task was to acknowledge Obama as the party nominee, say repeatedly she was supporting him and would do everything she could to help him win.

...

She made it clear, sometimes painfully so, that she was endorsing Obama only because he's a Democrat. It's business.

Exactly. The main point I took away from the concession speech is that Hillary did the absolute minimum to get the rest of the party off of her back. She didn't surrender her delegates, she didn't promise not to try again, should things go awry. She merely stated that by the rules Obama won. And that's all she said.

In fact, it more than reminds me of McCain's concession to Bush in 2000. At that time McCain said he fully supported and endorsed Bush and would do what he could to see him elected. This was after having trouble saying "endorse". And then he didn't exactly set the world on fire barnstorming to elect Bush, as best as I can recall.

So actions speak louder than words and Hillary may be pulling a full McCain; say the right words and disappear. And while HIllary may be promising to support Obama wholeheartedly, we still are left to wonder if that means anything concrete. To most Obama supporters, it matters little, they've moved on. But are they leaving behind some very frustrated voters?

The John McCain blog laments Hillary's exit:

Senator Clinton has really grown on us over here in Crystal City over the past few months. She ran an impressive campaign, and proved herself to be an impressive candidate and as John McCain has said, inspired a generation of women. Ultimately, and ironically, it seems she fell victim to a vast left-wing conspiracy that resented her generally centrist foreign policy views (early support for the Iraq war, support for Kyl-Lieberman, unwavering support for Israel, etc.).

And so it was interesting that she barely touched on foreign policy in her concession speech today. She mentioned Iraq only twice, she mentioned terrorism only once, and she didn't mention Iran at all. After all, her serious approach to each of these issues proved liability in the Democratic primary. She spent years building a strong record on national security, and in the end her party opted for a candidate with no national security experience at all.

Senator Clinton also didn't mention John McCain once during her speech. This came as something of a surprise over here, and a pleasant one at that. But it's clear that John McCain and Hillary Clinton respect each other -- and there is a genuine affection for her here at McCain HQ. During her speech there was no small amount of pleading with the TV: 'Don't do it, you can still win!'

Is this a signal that they intend to go after disaffected Hillary voters? Mr. Goldfarb certainly seems to be leaving the door open for them. Or it could be just professional courtesy and respecting the need not to kick someone down unnecessarily. It is also helpful to remember that they did work together in the senate and voted the same on not a few of the Iraq votes plus immigration reform.

One concern of mine is that if this is a hint that they will go after Obama's national security record, well, we know how well that worked for Hillary. I think Americans care about national security, but right now, concerns about their home values and $4 a gallon gas are trumping anything that might happen in a sandbox half a world away.

One thing we do know for sure. McCain wanted Hillary to go on and on and on.

After this extraordinary week in Democratic politics and Senator Clinton's superb speech yesterday, we move on to the next phase of this contest, the general election. I know I'm damned glad this primary season is over. Here are the websites of the respective Democratic candidates immediately following Clinton's speech:

Welcome to Videos of the Week. The big story this week is, of course, Hillary Clinton's non-concession Tuesday, her concession Saturday, and everything in between. I'll have lots of clips on that, but I wanted to lead off with a different Hillary-related clip, from the Pennsylvania Primary event in Philadelphia. It's a VOTW Exclusive World Premiere!


I'm not going to re-post the entire concession speech, but you can watch it here.

On the night of the PA primary, my regular video camera punked out on me halfway through, so when Gwen here burst into the press room, singing Hillary's praises, all I had was my cellphone. The rest of the reporters shushed her rudely, but I wanted to hear what she had to say. I wanted to capture that excitement that draws odd stares from the "Grey Poupon" politterati. Today was the first time I've watched it, and although it was funnier than I remembered, it is no less moving in its depiction of Gwen's affection for Hillary.

Barack Obama's campaign released this statement, via email:

"Obviously, I am thrilled and honored to have Senator Clinton's support. But more than that, I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run.

She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere, who now know that there are no limits to their dreams. And she inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans.

Our party and our country are stronger because of the work she has done throughout her life, and I'm a better candidate for having had the privilege of competing with her in this campaign. No one knows better than Senator Clinton how desperately America and the American people need change, and I know she will continue to be in the forefront of that battle this fall and for years to come," said U.S. Senator Barack Obama.

Update: Added Transcript at the end. Full video on this page.

Today's the day. Hillary Clinton will officially concede the race to Barack Obama, and strongly endorse his candidacy. Just how strongly may prove important in helping heal the wounds of what was the closest primary in American political history. Though Tommy Christopher wondered if we'll see an announcement of the Dream Ticket, Barack Obama is said to be in Chicago today.

Her task is to convince her supporters that Obama has indeed "crossed the commander-in-chief threshold," and that they should not only vote for Obama, but actively support him.

12:05 Clinton's running late. Ugh. I want to go surfing.

12:09 I'm inviting Denise and Tommy to come on in and post comments in the thread. The more the merrier.

12:10 There's Baghdad Bob, Terry McAuliffe!

TC: Keith says those are Corinthian columns there. How Montalbanian of him. DK, what odds do you give me on a Dream Ticket announcement today?

DK: T, I'd put it at 2%. And I've always been more of a fan of Ionic columns. Clean lines. Christ, where is she?

TC: OK, I'll take 5 bucks at 50 to 1. How many Hillary Clinton supporters does it take to change a light bulb?

12:21 DK: Tommy, let's take this to the jump, shall we? See you on the other side...

This Saturday, Hillary Clinton is set to announce her concession from the Democratic Primary race, and her endorsement of Barack Obama. Could there be another surprise? The gaping hole in Barack Obama's schedule certainly makes room for an intriguing possibility. From The LA Times:

After tending to one last bit of pressing business -- an unpublicized visit Thursday night with Hillary Clinton in Washington for a chat the entire political universe would have killed to overhear -- Barack Obama headed to his Chicago home for what his schedule listed as three days of downtime.

I am definitely reaching here, but could this clearing of the decks be in aid of a joint concession/VP announcement? Is it even physically possible for Barack Obama to sneak into Washington, D.C., unnoticed?

An announcement like that would have several positives, and few negatives. First of all, it would be a stunning PR move for the Democrats. Hillary's speech is the only game in town this weekend, so there will be lots of attention focused there.

Unless you've been under a rock for the last two days, you now know that Hillary is quitting/conceding/congratulating, and because she's a Clinton and Clinton's don't quit, it is highly likely that she was either threatened with something, or she was promised something.

Since I doubt that Hillary is scared of much, I'm going to go with an assumption that she was promised something. Other than a keynote at the convention that is, the big speech is a given. VP? That's doubtful. I don't think she wants to play second fiddle if Obama wins, and she certainly doesn't want to be anywhere near the wreckage if Obama loses.

But this speculation is interesting:

If Obama were to promise Clinton the first court vacancy, her supporters would actually have a stronger incentive to support him for president than they would if she were going to be vice president. Given the Supreme Court's delicate liberal-conservative balance, she would play a major role in charting the country's future; there is no guarantee that a Clinton vice presidency would achieve such importance.

For nearly a year and a half, Clinton has been fighting a bruising battle. Many appointees and officials from her husband's administration have turned their backs on her; she has lost the support of friends she had every reason to believe would stand by her. She has campaigned tirelessly only to discover that, according to polls, more than half the populace mistrusts her. Yes, she can still hope for 2012 or 2016, but why trust that she will be viewed differently next time around? (A recent CNN "quick poll" found that nearly 70 percent of respondents believed someone other than Clinton would be the first female president.)

From the Democratic point of view it has a nice angle in that it removes her from contention permanently, and a Democratic senate would be likely to confirm one of their own, so I don't see a problem there. On the crackpot theory scale, I would have to rate this one as scary close to possible.

The same way I did, from Mark Impomeni, or at least somebody like him. From Politico:

But even when news reports circulated early Wednesday evening that Clinton would drop out of the race Friday, the initial reaction was muted.

"No comment," said an Obama aide.

The Clinton campaign had not yet made contact with the Obama campaign, another aide said outside an evening fundraiser in Manhattan.

AWK-ward!

My mom gets on my case if I don't call her when her geraniums are blooming, or whatever they do.

The fact that there was no contact between the camps on this says something, but not necessarily what it appears to.