Obama to supporters: Big milestone reached

Barack Obama just claimed a key benchmark on the path to the Democratic nomination -- a majority of all pledged delegates to be chosen by voters in primaries and caucuses.

"The polls are closed in Kentucky and votes are being counted in Oregon, and it's clear that tonight we have reached a major milestone on this journey," he told supporters in an email. "We have won an absolute majority of all the delegates chosen by the people in this Democratic primary process.

"From the beginning, this journey wasn't about me or the other candidates. It was about a simple choice -- will we continue down the same road with the same leadership that has failed us for so long, or will we take a different path? Too many of us have been disappointed by politics and politicians more times than you can count. We've seen promises broken and good ideas drowned in a sea of influence, point-scoring, and petty bickering that has consumed Washington. Yet, in spite of all the doubt and disappointment -- or perhaps because of it -- people have stood for change."

"Unfortunately, our opponents in the other party continue to embrace yesterday's policies and they will continue to employ yesterday's tactics -- they will try to change the subject, and they will play on fears and divisions to distract us from what matters to you and your future. But those tactics will not work in this election. They won't work because you won't let them.
Not this time. Not this year.

"We still have work to do to in the remaining states, where we will compete for every delegate available. But tonight, I want to thank you for everything you have done to take us this far -- farther than anyone predicted, expected, or even believed possible.
And I want to remind you that you will make all the difference in the epic challenge ahead."

Obama is about to give a similar message to an outdoor rally in Des Moines, Iowa -- the state where his victory in the January caucuses catapulted his candidacy.