A divided Democratic National Convention stopped its roll-call vote two-thirds of the way through Wednesday and nominated by acclimation Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to be the first African-American presidential candidate in the history of the United States.
The nomination was both high drama and bittersweet. And though it ended a contentious process following a long, hard-fought primary season, many of the party’s most faithful remained divided of spirit, and a few vowed to vote for the other side.
“Let’s declare together, right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our next president,” Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama’s primary rival, shouted before a shouting throng on its feet and waving signs.
Clinton made the motion, seconded by the more than 4,000 delegates in a rush of applause and dissented by none, after Nevada stopped the roll call by yield to Illinois, which Obama represents. Illinois yield to Clinton’s New York.
“That was art. That was beautiful,” said Chris Gates, former party chair for Colorado. “They had clearly orchestrated it perfectly to deliver the exact right message, and they succeeded.”
