By every rational measure, Hillary Clinton should be the next President of the United States. After winning a bruising battle for her party’s nomination, she needs only go through the motions to overcome the challenge of a brash political outsider who, unlike her, cannot call on the tools that usually get American Presidents elected. Like the wholehearted support of a major political party. The endorsement of the outgoing President and a string of celebrities. Intimate knowledge from through years of experience seeing close up what the job entails. And then there is Trump’s sexist image which Clinton will farm for every possible female vote. In every sense, the odds are stacked against The Donald – literally too. On the Betfair Betting Exchange, a $1 bet on Hillary Clinton to become President will return a 35c profit. The same wager on Trump, should he win, would deliver $3.50. That’s what bookmakers would term “No Race”. But it is far too early for celebrations. Trump has made a habit of overturning predictions. A year ago, he was a 50/1 shot. And he represents a force a few pundits are starting to belatedly recognise. Many voters have a perception Government is a system where candidates lie to get elected and once there, use their power to feather their nests. Trump is tapping into this potentially rich vein, branding the Clintons as entrepreneurial politicians who have turned abuse of power into a fine art. Expect more such insults – and retorts from his opponent – in the run-up to the November election. As things stand today the contest looks uneven. But five months is a lifetime in politics. Spectators all around the world are sure to be riveted. – Alec Hogg  Â
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(Bloomberg) —Â Hillary Clinton declared herself the victor in the Democratic nomination race, becoming the first woman to run as the presidential candidate of a major U.S. political party, and immediately launched her general election campaign with an attack on presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
In an address to supporters Tuesday night in Brooklyn, Clinton savored the historical moment and appealed to supporters of challenger Bernie Sanders. But she wasted no time in setting the tone and themes for her race against Trump, who an hour earlier took his own shots at Clinton and promised there were more to come.
“Thanks to you we’ve reached a milestone, the first time in our nation’s history that a woman will be a major party’s nominee,” Clinton told the crowd after a win in New Jersey’s primary sealed her status. “Tonight’s victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible.”
President Barack Obama sent a clear signal that the Democratic race is over. He called Clinton Tuesday night to congratulate her for securing the delegates she needed for the nomination and spoke to Sanders to thank him “for energizing millions of Americans” with his campaign message, according to a White House statement.
Sanders also asked for and was granted a meeting with Obama at the White House on Thursday to talk about the issues at stake in the election, the statement said.
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The Obama call raises the pressure from the Democratic establishment building on Sanders to abandon his bid for the nomination and help unify the party behind Clinton. Sanders has previously said he will contest the nomination until July’s Democratic convention in Philadelphia, mounting a long-shot bid in hopes of convincing party superdelegates to switch their support to him from Clinton.
At her victory party, Clinton reveled in her status as the first woman to be the nominee of a major U.S. political party. As part of her introduction to cheering supporters, the campaign played a video that combined clips of Clinton’s speeches with the voices of young girls and of trailblazers including Shirley Chisholm, Rosa Parks and Ann Richards.
She also laid out what she said were clear choices in the 2016 election. Clinton called Trump “temperamentally unfit” to be president and said his slogan, “make America great” is “code for let’s take American backwards.”
Let's build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us.https://t.co/q9iPKDnnpI
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 7, 2016
Trump, who won uncontested Republican primaries in New Jersey and four other states, delivered his own preview of the campaign ahead. In a speech to supporters in Briarcliff Manor, New York, he railed against free-trade deals that he said have “stripped” the U.S. of jobs and attacked Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. The Clintons “have turned the politics of self-enrichment into an art form,” he told supporters. He said he plans to deliver a speech next week that will be focused on Clinton’s record.
While Clinton is looking ahead to what members of both parties expect will be a vicious general election race, her biggest immediate challenge remains Sanders. He has given conflicting signals about whether he will carry on his fight to the Democratic convention in July.
Sanders campaigned aggressively to make a last stand in California, which also was holding its primary.
While Clinton won primaries in New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota Tuesday, her performance in California may determine whether she will be seen as sprinting or stumbling into the match-up against Trump in November. She had a wide lead in the early returns from the state.
Sanders won caucuses held in North Dakota on Tuesday and the primary in Montana was still too early to call.
Read also:Â Dreamy! Hillary Clinton heads for the White House with Bill by her side
While the Republican Party has been riven by divisions over their nominee, Trump sought to exploit differences among Democrats, telling voters who had supported Sanders but were now “left out in the cold by a rigged system” in the Democratic race to consider backing his campaign.
Tuesday’s results will accelerate the delicate dance involving the two campaigns and the White House as Democrats attempt to close ranks to face Trump. While Sanders is under increasing pressure from his colleagues in the Senate to stand down and give up any notion of fighting further, party leaders are still giving him some deference to avoid alienating the supporters he has galvanized.
In an interview with NBC News taped Tuesday, Sanders made clear he didn’t plan to exit the race quietly, saying his campaign was “on the phone right now” trying to convince superdelegates to switch sides.
“Defying history is what this campaign has been all about,” Sanders said. “I’m going to be meeting with my supporters to figure out the best way forward so we have a government that represents all of us and not just the 1 percent.”
Bill Clinton was one of many politicians & celebs talking about Hillary Clinton's big moment https://t.co/YuKwloxyik pic.twitter.com/F3TzraFcFo
— CNN (@CNN) June 8, 2016
Still, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook and Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver have talked by telephone to discuss the next steps.
A prominent Sanders supporter suggested the party would begin to come together more quickly. “We have to be unified to take on Trump, and that unity is going to begin today as soon as the polls close,” Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, said Tuesday on CNN.
Obama, who remained neutral in public throughout the Democratic primary schedule, is readying an endorsement of Clinton that may come as soon as this week. Obama spoke with Sanders by telephone on Sunday for about 30 minutes, an unusually long presidential conversation. White House press secretary Josh Earnest refused on Tuesday to give any details on the call, adding that “The lines of communication between the White House and the campaigns have been open.”
Obama’s task in the 2016 campaign will be rallying the young and liberal voters who have rallied behind the Sanders campaign throughout the Democratic nominating contest.
