Obama's Resignation from Church, DNC Delegate Ruling Move Him to Verge of Nomination

Obama resignation from Chicago's Trinity Unity Church of Christ story broken here.

NY Times blogged on the DNC Florida / Michigan delegate selection process here.

Clinton representative Harold Ickes, after voting for the resolution on Florida, now reserves the right to take the battle to the 186-member Credentials Committee - and likely on to the floor of the convention.

I look for substantial pressure to be exerted (by Reid and Pelosi, among others) on the superdelegates following the South Dakota and Montana primaries this coming Tuesday. They do not want this fight to continue into the summer, while the neocon-controlled Republican party works to define the Democratic nominee. Hillary must know her chances of nomination in 2008 are negligible. Which begs the question - what does Hillary want?

Adam Nagourney, Carl Hulse and Jeff Zelenyin write in the New York Times:

"Montana and South Dakota will vote Tuesday, after Puerto Rico does so on Sunday, finishing a process that began precisely five months ago to the day in Iowa. Even if those results do not put Mr. Obama over the top, aides to both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton said they expect enough superdelegates to rally behind Mr. Obama in the 48 hours after the final primaries to allow him to proclaim himself the nominee."

***

"Assuming Mr. Obama reaches the total number of delegates and superdelegates he needs to secure the nomination in the coming week, Mrs. Clinton will be faced with three options, associates said: to suspend her campaign and endorse Mr. Obama; to suspend her campaign without making an endorsement; or to press the fight through the convention. Several of Mrs. Clinton’s associates said it was unlikely she would fight through the convention, given the potential damage it would do to her standing within the party, which is increasingly eager to unify and turn to the battle against Mr. McCain.

"Mrs. Clinton would almost surely face the defection of some of her highest-profile supporters, as well as some members of her staff. She would no doubt also face anger from Democratic leaders as she contemplates a return to the Senate and, potentially, another run for the White House."

Obama's resignation from his Church of the last twenty years, the church in which he and his wife married, in which his daughters were baptized, acted to remove the last impediment to gaining the necessary support from outstanding superdelegates and party elders. He has shown the ability to make the often difficult decisions necessary to move the nation forward, toward fulfilling the interests and meeting the needs of the vast majority of Americans.

I am more and more impressed by Senator Obama and his campaign organization. He is showing by his actions that he will be ready to lead this nation come January, 2009.