2008 Democratic Nomination

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2008 Democratic Nomination

This is background information about the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary. After reading these paragraphs, read ³Why I Continue to Run´ by Hillary Clinton and answer the vocabulary

and comprehension questions that follow.

The 2008 Presidential Election was historic for many reasons. The winning candidate, Sen.Barack Obama, became the first African-American President in United States history. Hist

victory also marked a victory for the Democratic Party after eight years under George W. Bush,a Republican.

Another historic aspect of this election was the Democratic Presidential Primary. A

presidential primary is the process through which a political party nominates its candidate for president. Primaries are like elections. Candidates receive delegates based on the number of

votes they receive in primary elections and from the pledges of political elites called super delegates. The candidate who wins the majority of the delegates wins the party nomination and

becomes the party¶s candidate for president.

In 2008 the campaign for the Democratic nomination went on for many months longer thanaverage. Sen. Barack Obama campaigned against Sen. Hillary Clinton. Despite leading in

delegate from the beginning of the primary campaign, Sen. Obama was not able to clinch theDemocratic nomination until late in the campaign. Clinton refused to concede the nomination

until Sen. Obama won a majority of the Democratic delegates, which occurred on June 3, 2008.Sen. Clinton conceded the primary and endorsed Sen. Obama on June 7, 2008.

Excerpt from: ³Why I Continue to Run´ by Hillary Clinton, from the New York Daily News,

May 26, 2008

And today, I would like to more fully answer the question I was asked: Why do I continue to run,even in the face of calls from pundits and politicians for me to leave this race?

I am running because I still believe I can win on the merits. Because, with our economy incrisis, our nation at war, the stakes have never been higher - and the need for real leadershiphas never been greater - and I believe I can provide that leadership.

I am not unaware of the challenges or the odds of my securing the nomination - but this raceremains extraordinarily close, and hundreds of thousands of people in upcoming primaries arestill waiting to vote. As I have said so many times over the course of this primary, if Sen. Obama

wins the nomination, I will support him and work my heart out for him against John McCain.

But that has not happened yet.

I am running because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believethat if Sen. Obama and I both make our case - and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard - in the end, everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.



I am running because my parents did not raise me to be a quitter - and too many people stillcome up to me at my events, grip my arm and urge me not to walk away before this contest isover. More than 17 million Americans have voted for me in this race - the most in presidentialprimary history.

I am running for all those women in their 90s who've told me they were born before women

could vote, and they want to live to see a woman in the White House. For all the women whoare energized for the first time, and voting for the first time. For the little girls - and little boys -whose parents lift them onto their shoulders at our rallies, and whisper in their ears, "See, youcan be anything you want to be." As the first female candidate in this position, I believe I have aresponsibility to finish this race.

I am running for all the men and women I meet who wake up every day and work hard to makea difference for their families. People who deserve a shot at the American Dream - the chanceto save for college, a home and retirement; to afford quality health care for their families; to f illthe gas tank and buy the groceries with a little left over each month.

I believe I won a 40-point victory two weeks ago in West Virginia and a 35-point victory in

Kentucky this past week - despite voters being repeatedly told this race is over - because I'mstanding up for them. I'm standing up for the deepest principles of our party and for an Americathat values the middle class and rewards hard work.

Finally, I am running because I believe I'm the strongest candidate to stand toe-to-toe withSen. McCain. Delegate math might be complicated - but electoral math is not. Our campaign iswinning the popular vote - and we've been winning the swing states we need to get 270electoral votes and take back the White House: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arkansas, NewHampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, Florida and West Virginia.

But no matter what happens in this primary, I am committed to unifying this party. Ultimately,what Sen. Obama and I share is so much greater than our differences. And I know that if we

come together, as a party and a people, there is no challenge we cannot meet, no barrier wecannot break and no dream we cannot realize.

Comprehension Questions

1. To which political party do Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton belong?

2. What do the words running and race mean in this context?

3. What reasons do Mrs. Clinton give for her refusal to end her campaign?

4. Mrs. Clinton states that she is ³standing up for the deepest principles´ of her party. Basedon the passage, what are those principles?



American Government and Politics Vocabulary

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2008 Democratic Nomination