Boos and Cheers as Hillary ends her campaign (VIDEO)

Mrs. Clinton, speaking here to an audience of advisers and supporters who had been invited to attend from across the country, used the final rally of her presidential campaign to end her barrier-breaking bid for the presidency and endorse Mr. Obama. She pledged that she would do what it takes to help Mr. Obama win the White House.

In her last rally as a presidential candidate, Mrs. Clinton expressed deep gratitude to the voters. who had cast ballots for her. She suspended her campaign, rather than officially ending it. That’s a technicality that will allow her to raise money to retire her debt and to control the delegates she won. It is not an indication that she has any intention of resuming it.

Mr. Obama stayed away because he understood this was her moment.

Mrs. Clinton offered nothing less than a full-throated endorsement for and embrace of Mr. Obama and his candidacy. She has said many times that she would work her heart out for the nominee, and aides said she knew that now was the time to begin to show it. (MORE)

Link: sevenload.com

Under pressure, Clinton gives up White House bid

Clinton’s decision came as some of her most prominent supporters — including former Vice President Walter Mondale — announced they were now backing Obama.

“I was for Hillary — I wasn’t against Obama, who I think is very talented,” Mondale said. “I’m glad we made a decision, and I hope we can unite our party and move forward.”

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to end her historic bid to become the first female president while leaving her options open to retain her delegates and promote her issues, including a signature call for universal health care.

Hours after Sen. Barack Obama sealed the nomination, Democrats coalesced around his candidacy, sending a strong signal to Clinton that it was time to bow out.

The former first lady told House Democrats during a private conference call Wednesday that she will express support for Obama’s candidacy and congratulate him for gathering the necessary delegates to be the party’s nominee.

“Senator Clinton will be hosting an event in Washington, D.C., to thank her supporters and express her support for Senator Obama and party unity. This event will be held on Saturday to accommodate more of Senator Clinton’s supporters who want to attend,” her communications director Howard Wolfson said.

Also in the speech, Clinton will urge once-warring Democrats to focus on the general election and defeating Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain.

The announcement brought to a close an epic five-month nominating battle pitting the first serious female candidate against the most viable black contender ever.

On Tuesday night, Obama secured the 2,118 delegates needed to claim the Democratic nomination, but Clinton stopped short of acknowledging that milestone.

An adviser said Clinton and her lieutenants had discussed various ways a presidential candidacy can end, including suspending the campaign to retain control of her convention delegates and sustain her visibility in an effort to promote her key issue of health care.

Dennis Prager calls shenanigans on Hillary’s “what’s good for women” line

Prager reacts to Hillary Clinton saying that it would be a “change” to hear about “what’s good for women” this time in the campaign by pointing out that for the last 50 years that is ALL that is discussed when it comes to gender is “what is good for women”. It is NEVER “what is good for men” despite males having been in a steadily declining situation in America while women’s status has been rising.

Hillary just won’t melt…

Hillary Clinton is being asked – no, told – by party elders, pundits and people who say they care about their country, to quit the quest of a lifetime: to stop raining on Barack Obama’s presidential parade, the Democratic Party and even democracy itself.

By yesterday, as the superdelegate tally reflected either a tie or Obama in the lead, Senator Clinton’s last “I can do this” weapon was steadily slipping away from her.

Yet there she was, glad-handing at a Mother’s Day “celebration” in West Virginia with her daughter Chelsea at her side, perhaps offering one clue to her emotional stamina: As Gail Collins wrote in The New York Times, the embattled senator is privately saying “she does not intend to go home and tell Chelsea that she’s a quitter.”

More >