English Reading Skill

Barack Obama has reportedly achieved enough Democratic Party delegates to get the Democratic nomination to become the Presidential candidate to face Republican Senator John McCain in the November 2008 United States elections. Obama will be the first black candidate ever to stand for the United States presidency with the backing of a major political party.

While Obama needed another 40 primary delegates to secure the required 2,118 total, he was considered to be likely to achieve this through the primaries in Montana and South Dakota. However, because of the superdelegates that have gone in favour of Obama, he has achieved the needed count ahead of today's primaries. According to two anonymous Clinton campaign officials, the New York Senator believed that Obama, the junior Senator from Illinois, had done enough to win the Democratic nomination.

Interviewed on CNN today, Clinton's campaign manager Terry McAuliffe stated that once Obama reached the crucial delegate count of 2,118, Clinton would congratulate him and "call him the nominee".

The decision not to terminate Clinton's campaign officially was observed to give her a bargaining tool with Obama on various matters, up to and including the possibility of Clinton being Obama's vice presidential candidate.

A news report released by the Boston Globe has claimed that "she [Clinton] will gracefully exit the stage and won't take her fight to the convention." Sources close to Clinton hinted that if asked, she would be willing to serve as Obama's running mate.

Story Source: Wikinews
June 4th, 2008

English Vocabulary Notes

backing = support
crucial = vital, essential
bargaining = negotiation
hinted = suggested
running mate = deputy
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