THE CONCESSION SPEECH OBAMA MADE

My first reaction to Clinton's speech was that Chelsea Clinton was tied to a chair bound and gagged in an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Washington and as soon as the speech was over she was set free by Bill Richardson and Nancy Pelosi.

That speech was nothing less than the best endorsement either candidate received from anyone through the entire process.

But the more I listened the more I started to realize that it wasn't Clinton's concession I was listening to. It was Obama's.

Naturally Clinton would have preferred to be the candidate and so did the majority of the party who voted for her -- that same majority who Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and super delegates thumbed their noses at last week and which may cost them the election.

But a few days ago, unlike James Clyburn who likes to send out subliminal race baiting messages, Clinton sent a message that was anything but subliminal. It was a message that she sent loud and clear.And right out in the open.And she sent it right to Obama and his campaign.

She said it over and over again just to make sure they got it. "what does Hillary want? What does she want?" then just to make sure they understood she said it again, two more times. "What does Hillary want"?

You know that Obama and the Axelrod of evil got the message because the next day Obama was on a plane to Washington. Obama and Clinton met privately. At her home.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but McCain didn't go see Huckabee and he didn't go see Romney. And the VP candidates that McCain is considering also went to see him, he didn't go see them.Obama went to see Clinton because he understood that he couldnt win without her and that she wanted something and that if he wanted her support there was something he was going to have give.

And so he went, and they met privately, and based on her speech, she got what she wanted.

I don't know if Obama left that meeting with Clinton's footprints all over his back but the more I listened to the speech the more I realized that whatever she wanted he agreed to. Her speech on Saturday was Clinton holding up her end of the bargain.

What that price was, I have no idea. Whether wanted the VP slot or whether it something else. Clinton doesnt need the VP slot. She has a lot of options including keeping them all open. But listening to that speech she certainly sounded like a VP candidate stumping for the top of the ticket and doing it better than Edwards ever did it for Kerry or Lieberman ever did it for Gore or either of them could ever do for Obama.

Clinton made a speech that was so praiseworthy of Obama it was better than anything Obama's own mother could have given. It was better than Oprah. In fact it was better than any speech Obama ever gave about himself. She said everything the Democratic Party leadership ( if that isn't an oxymoron I don't know what is) wanted her to say. And did all she could have in that speech to promote the idea of unity.

But with a large percentage of Clinton voters sure to defect because they wont vote for Obama for any number of valid, substantive reasons and others because they are so disgusted with the Democratic Party and the way they subverted and trashed the entire process they want to teach the party a lesson, the question will be, even with Clinton's endorsement, even if she is on the ticket as VP will it be enough to win?

Obama is hoping it will. He made his concession speech the other night. In private. To one person. But that was the only person who mattered. Whatever Lola wanted, Lola got.

NOTE: If Clinton does not release her delegates, technically she is still a candidate;. If polls next week start to show that Obama will have an uphill climb against McCain now that people are going to focus on him as the candidate, then, showing that she has been a team player and doing all that she could have done in that speech to support him, will make it a lot easier for super delegates to change their minds once again before making it official at the convention. And if by August it should start to look like McCain has a huge lead instead of it being a competitive race, changing their minds is exactly what some super delegates might do.

NOTE #2.: Donna Brazille said on CNN back in February when Clinton had a substantial lead in declared super delegates that " if super delegates decide this nomination Im resigning from the Democratic Party". We're still waiting.