Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Obama's win elicits elation, resignation among Democrats around the county

By Jerry Cornfield and Jeff Switzer
Herald Writers

 Sen. Barack Obama's campaign reached a historic milestone Tuesday when he secured the Democratic Party's nomination for president and became the first black man to ascend to such a height in American politics.

Even before results trickled in from the last contests in South Dakota and Montana, Obama had nabbed commitments from enough delegates to claim for himself the victory over Hillary Clinton.

"America, this is our moment. This is our time," he said in a speech in St. Paul, Minn. "The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations."

Even before he spoke, his supporters celebrated the end of the longest and costliest primary campaign this nation has ever experienced.

"I have been exhausted before. I am invigorated today. I kind of feel like I've been on that improbable journey with him," said Marsha Scutvick, 58, who lives just outside Mill Creek and heads up the Obama effort in Snohomish County.

"Awesome!" said Amina Al-Sadi, 18, of Mukilteo. "I like his politics a lot more than Hillary's. He's more sincere and the right candidate to take into the 2008 general election."

Democratic leaders are watching and waiting to see how Clinton responds these next few days, knowing well this could affect Obama's chances in defeating Republican Sen. John McCain this fall.

If she's not on the ticket as vice president -- something she'd consider though Obama's not yet suggested he'll offer -- she'll be counted on to convince her core supporters to back the nominee.

For now, Clinton is still in the race. Instead, she told supporters Tuesday in New York she'll spend a few days contemplating her next step.

Breaking the delegate threshold is "potentially anticlimactic until the other candidate concedes," said Todd Donovan, a political science professor at Western Washington University.

"It's an awkward time period waiting for an opponent to concede. It's part of the etiquette of American politics."

Clinton did lose the support of one Washington superdelegate when King County Executive Ron Sims announced Tuesday he would back Obama. Former Gov. Gary Locke, another big-name Clinton supporter but not a superdelegate, also switched.

Another superdelegate, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, said he remained committed to her.

"Sen. Clinton has asked for our thoughts and I will give her my advice privately tomorrow," Inslee said late Tuesday.

Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon said he's a Clinton supporter "until she says she's not in it any longer."

For some backers, changing candidates is not going to be easy.

"I'm just very disappointed," said Sharon Hopkins Lanning, 69, of Everett who desperately wanted to see a female president in her lifetime.

"I'll vote for a Democrat. I will vote for Barack Obama, but very resignedly," she said. "I wish he would offer her the vice presidency. At least if I don't get to see a woman president, at least I'll get to see a woman vice president. I'd be thoroughly excited to vote for that ticket. Then I would have no doubts."

Deano Garcia of Tulalip said both candidates should be allowed to continue on to the end of the nomination process. The 49-year-old said he might have to hold his nose and vote for McCain.

"I've never voted Republican since Ronald Reagan," he said. "I can't say if I made my mind up 100 percent."

While the party's base is polarized today, Democrats will come together by the fall, said Eileen Macoll, vice chairwoman of the state Democratic Party and a superdelegate for Clinton.

"Once this is over and we all have time to calm down and catch our breath we will all come together and a lot of this rancor you hear now will be set aside," she said

"A good Democrat can win. He is the best Democrat and through our sorting and selecting he is the best person," she said.

That selection process proved one for the ages.

"Fifty years from now political historians will still be looking back and writing about this primary season we've just concluded," Democratic political consultant Ron Dotzauer said.

Obama and Clinton spent nearly $500 million combined in electoral battles throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Obama needed 2,118 delegates to clinch and he eclipsed the mark soon after polls closed Tuesday.

In Washington, he won two-thirds of the caucus votes cast Feb. 9. The two battled much closer in the statewide presidential preference primary Feb. 19, the results of which had no impact on distribution of delegates.

In that tally, Obama collected 354,112 votes to Clinton's 315,744. In Snohomish County, he received 33,958 votes to her total of 32,753.

Most significantly, this is the first time the party's final choices for a presidential nominee were a black man and a woman. This country has never had either as a president.

For Obama, the issue of race didn't appear to play as big a role among Democratic primary voters as some might have expected.

The campaign has been a marathon muting the historic significance that the country will be considering its first black president, Donovan said.

"It is this great historical change in the demographics of American politics," Donovan said.

Having a black man leading the ticket signals the gains made in the last 50 years, said two state lawmakers who are Obama backers.

"I'm elated. It's an historic event," said Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip. "We need these types of changes in order to progress."

Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Edmonds, said she began getting active in politics in the early 1960s fighting for civil rights. She said in 1972 she voted for Shirley Chisholm, a black congresswoman from New York, for president.

"A lot of people have sacrificed a lot in this country. The idea that we can elect a black man for president and race is not the main issue, for me, it is momentous," she said.

Obama can now focus on McCain.

Two Snohomish County Republicans consider McCain's chances are better against him than Clinton in the county.

"I was fearful Obama was not going to pull this off," former Snohomish County GOP chairman Paul Elvig said. "He's one of the easiest people to draw a contrast to what he is and what he isn't."

If Clinton joins the ticket, it will affect McCain's choice for a running mate and make it harder for him to win in Snohomish County, Elvig said.

"Obama and Hillary would be a formidable ticket," said Arlington's Chris Nandor, chairman of the 39th District Republicans.

Elvig, a veteran of many elections, said this one is a long way from over.

"Let the campaign begin."

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA