Today on the presidential campaign trail

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - IN THE HEADLINES

Clinton ends campaign, urges supporters to work to elect Obama ... McCain, Obama must decide what they want before deciding who they want for vice president ... Republicans look to Wisconsin judge's race as blueprint for McCain victory

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Clinton suspends campaign, endorses Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton suspended her pioneering campaign for the presidency and summoned supporters to use "our energy, our passion, our strength" to put Barack Obama in the White House.

"I endorse him and throw my full support behind him," said the former first lady, delivering the strong affirmation that her one-time rival and other Democratic leaders hoped to hear after a bruising campaign.

Amid tears from her supporters, Clinton issued a call for unity that emphasized the cultural and political milestones that she and Obama, the first black to secure a presidential nomination, represent.

"Children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States," she said Saturday.

For Clinton and her backers, it was a poignant moment, the end of an extraordinary run that began with an air of inevitability and certain victory. About 18 million people voted for her; it was the closest a woman has come to capturing a nomination.

"Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it has about 18 million cracks in it and the light is shining through like never before," she said in a speech before cheering supporters packed into the ornate National Building Museum, not far from the White House she longed to occupy again, as president this time.

Indeed, her speech repeatedly returned to the new threshold her candidacy had set for women. In primary after primary, her support among women was a solid bloc of her coalition. She noted that she had received the support of women born before women could even vote.

But her main goal was to heal the rift in the party — one that cleaved Democrats in part by class, by gender and by race.

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Veep hunt tops summer to-do list for Obama, McCain

WASHINGTON (AP) — Finding a running mate tops the summer to-do lists of John McCain and Barack Obama, and each needs to decide what he wants as much as who he wants.

Are they out to offset their own perceived weaknesses, or reinforce an area of strength? Are they looking for someone from a particular region or demographic niche? How much should personal chemistry count in the equation? It's all about achieving balance.

The end of the Democratic primary season this past week touched off considerable debate about the relative merits of an Obama-Clinton "dream ticket." Obama could decide to pick vanquished rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on the strength of her campaigning skills, or steer clear of the political baggage she and her husband would bring. He could view adding her to the ticket as a way to reach out to women and unify the party, or see her as a divisive figure who might turn away general-election voters.

A similar balancing act will play out on the Republican side. McCain, 71, could try to use his running mate to bulk up the ticket's economic credentials, for example, or to inject some youthful vigor.

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Wis. judge's race may be roadmap for McCain

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A little-known country judge's road to the Wisconsin Supreme Court is being eyed by John McCain backers as a map for him to win the state.

Republican operatives are closely studying how circuit judge Michael Gableman, a conservative candidate from Webster in far northwest Wisconsin who never ran a statewide race before, was able to oust a more liberal sitting Supreme Court justice in April.

They believe his win provides a guide for McCain to become the first Republican to carry the state since Ronald Reagan in 1984 and capture its 10 electoral votes.

Democrats John Kerry and Al Gore each won Wisconsin by a few thousand votes. Republicans have tried to figure out how to get over the hump ever since.

The Supreme Court race may seem like an odd place to look for those answers.

It was officially nonpartisan, even though Gableman was backed by conservatives and Butler by Democrats. Turnout was low at just 19 percent. And the issues, like who's a more experienced judge, don't translate to the presidential race.

But Republican strategists like Mark Graul are looking closely at it not because of the issues of the race, but where Gableman got his votes.

Gableman won without even coming close to carrying either of the state's two largest cities, Milwaukee or Madison, which also happen to be strongholds of the Democratic Party.

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THE DEMOCRAT

Barack Obama is in Chicago and has no publicly scheduled events.

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THE REPUBLICAN

John McCain has no publicly scheduled events.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"It would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours." — Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign debt has swollen to more than $30 million, including $11 million she lent the effort, her advisers have said.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner and Ronald Powers.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_el_pr/2008_race_rundown [link]