Nomination Continued.

The triumph came one month after his Super Tuesday coast-to-coast victories gave him an insurmountable lead in the delegate hunt and forced his chief rival, Mitt Romney, to drop out of the race.
``It's a very humbling thing, and I say that with all sincerity,'' McCain said of finally clinching the nomination.
McCain was heading to the White House on Wednesday for lunch with President Bush - and an endorsement. The two will make a joint statement afterward.
``The president has said he looks forward to vigorously campaigning for the GOP and tonight it has become clear that the GOP nominee will be Senator John McCain,'' said White House press secretary Dana Perino. ``Of course the president is going to endorse the GOP nominee which is going to be Senator John McCain.''
Republicans won't officially nominate McCain until early September at the GOP's national convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Shortly after AP called the race, his chief remaining rival Mike Huckabee withdrew from the race.
In Irving, Texas, the former Arkansas governor praised McCain and said: ``My commitment to him and the party is to do everything possible to unite our party but more important to unite our country so that we can be the best we can be.''
The general election campaign for the Republican nominee-in-waiting starts now even though Democrats still haven't chosen a candidate. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton continue a protracted battle for their party's nod, leaving McCain an opportunity to unify his party.
``The big battle's to come,'' he said of the general election. ``I do not underestimate the significance nor the size of the challenge.''
McCain added: ``There are going to be stark choices between a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican. I believe I can prevail in that contest of ideas and vision.''
Asked if he'd leave the Senate to campaign, he said, ``I have no intention of resigning from the Senate, but I will discuss it more.''
In a Dallas hotel ballroom where McCain addressed supporters, workers hoisted a five-foot-tall banner reading ``1191.''
``Our campaign must be, and will be more than another tired debate of false promises, empty sound bites, or useless arguments from the past that address not a single American's concerns for their family's security,'' said McCain, who earlier took a call of congratulations from Obama. A spokesman for the Illinois Democrat said he told McCain ``he looked forward to running against him in the fall.''
After racking up wins in states across the country, McCain entered Tuesday's contests with 1,014 delegates, 177 short of what he needed. McCain won all 17 delegates in Vermont, and at least 69 in Texas, 58 in Ohio and nine in Rhode Island, according to early returns. McCain also picked up about 30 endorsements from party leaders who will automatically attend the convention.
The delegate milestone effectively ends the bruising GOP primary fight that began just days after the November 2006 congressional elections when a slew of Republicans launched candidacies to succeed Bush as the party's standard-bearer and president. At one point, the crowded field reached a dozen.
McCain's feat caps a remarkable turnaround for the 71-year-old man who began running for president roughly a decade ago when he plotted a bid to overtake Bush, the then-Texas governor and establishment favorite. Back then, the Republican with a long reputation of bucking the party shocked Bush and much of the GOP with his come-from-nowhere double-digit win in New Hampshire. The race turned nasty as it moved to South Carolina, and McCain's bid never recovered from a loss there.
Nonetheless, that campaign put McCain - already somewhat known because of his Vietnam war-hero biography - on the national political map and set the stage for his campaign sequel.
Over the next few years, McCain sought to mend his relationship with the Bush political machine and conservatives who make up a cornerstone of the party. He embraced the president and campaigned for him during his successful re-election bid. He also reached out to the party's right-flank and its leaders like the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson who he once derided.
McCain also laid the groundwork for his second White House campaign.

Edited by UCP staff.