V-C Day!
Obama clinches the nomination!

I won't deny more than a little schadenfreude at the Fall of the House of Clinton. But this is really about a candidate I'm honored to support, a leader who represents the best of our aspirations and principles--and the nation's still-vital capacity for self-correction. There was no more eloquent statement the Democrats could make this year in rejecting the disastrous Bush presidency than nominating a man named Barack Hussein Obama, son of a mixed-race marriage and an immigrant father, community organizer and constitutional lawyer, champion of the country's finest reform tradition, meritocracy and the notion that American leaders can be both principled and tough.

(For that matter, the Republicans couldn't have made a stronger statement in rejecting Bush than nominating John McCain, who once honorably opposed Bush and still maintains that he represents a break from, rather than continuity with, the train wreck of the current administration. But they had fewer choices.)

I am trying to keep my hopes for this race, and for Obama himself, somewhat in check. The contest will have its ugly moments and Obama will make his share of mistakes. But Democrats picked the best candidate, and he will represent the party at its best. It's a time to celebrate.