Match point, Obama.

AP:

Virginia state House member Jennifer McClellan is one of at least nine superdelegates who have switched from Clinton to Obama since the Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5. There have been no public switches in the other direction.

"I think the time has come to support Senator Obama as the likely nominee," McClellan said in a conference call with reporters. "Given what happened last night, it's very unlikely we will have a different result, and it is time to come together as a party and prepare for victory against John McCain in November."

Folks, we are on the cusp of having Mr. Barack Obama, a Senator of the State of Illinois, as the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States.

Think about that.

The Party of Jefferson and Jackson, of FDR and JFK, is about to nominate as its candidate for President someone other than a white male - something neither major party has done.

If you had come up to me on the day Bush was inaugurated in 2001 and told me that Bush's successor would not be a white man, I would've been surprised, given that there weren't many people considerd to be leading presidential contenders who weren't white men. You had Gore, Bradley, Gephardt, Daschle, Kerry... and maybe that new Senator from New York, Hillary Clinton.

If you had told me that the 44th President would be Barack Obama, I would've said, "Who?"

But now, it is all but certain that Obama - who, as a state senator, wasn't well-known outside Chicago and Springfield - will be the Democratic Nominee for the highest office in the land.

Eight months and twelve days from now, our country's new president will have taken that oath to 'preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.' God willing, that President will be the former constitutional law professor who, at a young age, turned down prestigious offers from high-profile law firms to focus on building community. Someone whose words and actions have inspired millions to take responsibility for the future of their country.

Someone who has already led this country in ways unheard of in years... without even holding the title of President.

Someone the likes of whose character and integrity we have not seen in that Oval Office in years.

As you well know, history is filled with both great and mediocre Presidents. Washington. Jefferson. Lincoln. The Roosevelts. Wilson. Truman. Eisenhower. Kennedy.

Buchanan. Andrew Johnson. Hoover. Nixon. The Bushes.

Ten years from now, our 44th President - and, who knows, maybe our 45th President - will have left office. How will George W. Bush's successor be viewed on May 8, 2018?

Maybe as someone who succeeded in solving, or at least beginning to solve, some of the most vexing challenges ever faced by an American President.

Maybe as someone who utterly failed.

Maybe as a Gerald Ford-type figure - someone whose effort and determination weren't enough, at least in the eyes of public opinion.

Hopefully, we will see him as someone who faced the vexing problems facing our nation and world with the utmost character and determination.

With Obama, I see at least the potential for greatness. Sure, he hasn't even been elected yet. But if he handles the many pressures and challenges of the world stage as well as he has handled the pressures of the campaign, there's cause for optimism.

Cautious optimism. But optimism nonetheless.

We all have an important role to play in order for that to happen. I invite you to get involved with the campaign as the election gets closer. Write letters to the editor. Tell your friends and family members why you are a Democrat, and why they should be too.

As the Senator says, Our Moment Is Now.