WASHINGTON: Former first lady, secretary of state and senator Hillary Clinton made history on Tuesday when she became the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, the first woman in US history to do so.
“What an incredible honour that you have given me, and I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet,” Mrs Clinton told her party’s convention via a satellite link.
“And if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say I may become the first woman president. But one of you is next.”
As she spoke, a video montage showed the faces of all the 44 male presidents of the US before a glass ceiling got shattered to reveal her face.
The venue of the Democratic National Convention, just three miles from Independence Hall, Philadelphia, where the American nation was born, made the historic moment even more significant.
Mrs Clinton’s family, friends and supporters appeared on the stage to ask voters to elect her as the first woman president in November, some struggling to hide their tears on the emotional night.
But even her staunchest supporters acknowledged that it would not be easy to defeat Donald Trump, a dark horse who proved all political pundits wrong by winning the Republican nomination earlier this month.
Trump enjoying a two-point lead over former first lady, shows an opinion poll
An opinion survey released by Reuters/Ipsos on Wednesday showed Mr Trump enjoying a two-point lead over Mrs Clinton. Mr Trump has been ahead of her in the polls since he officially accepted the nomination at last week’s convention of his party in Cleveland.
But Tuesday night belonged to Mrs Clinton, the first woman to head a major party ticket. Victoria Claflin Woodhull was the first woman to run for president in 1872 but she did not receive any electoral votes.
In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to run on a major party’s national ticket. She was Walter Mondale’s running mate.
In 1916, Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to be elected to the US House of Representatives.
After her nomination, former president Bill Clinton told the audience that he was ready for a reverse role as the first presidential spouse if his wife became the president in November.
“She is the best darned change-maker I have ever known,” said Mr Clinton while debunking Mr Trump’s claim that she was “the epitome of the status quo”.
Comparing his wife with Mr Trump, he said: “One is real, the other is made up. You just have to decide which is which, my fellow Americans.”
In a move to win over the supporters of Bernie Sanders, the runner-up, the party held a roll call vote, asking each state to vote for their candidates, although there was no need to do so as Mrs Clinton already had a clear edge over Mr Sanders.
Mrs Clinton prevailed with 2,842 votes to 1,865 for Mr Sanders. Mr Sanders then endorsed her by acclamation — the final gracious gesture of the runner-up.
“I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States,” he declared after the vote count.
Yet, some of Mr Sanders’ supporters were not happy and went out of the convention hall, chanting “Bernie, Bernie” and joined another group protesting outside.
The Clinton camp hopes that Mr Sanders’ supporters would return to the party as the campaign moves on to the next stage of a direct confrontation between the Republican and Democratic candidates.
Nancy Pelosi, who made history as the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives in 2007, joined Mr Clinton in urging Americans to vote for Mrs Clinton.
“It’s beyond thrilling. It’s very exciting and to see at the end she’s the nominee. It’s going to be spectacular,” Pelosi told CNN’s Dana Bash.
Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2016
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