Photo by Joshua Lawton

Colorado delegates from left, Nate Vandershaaf, Shawn Coleman and Jonathan Singer, all of Boulder County, celebrate the nomination of Barack Obama before the roll call vote for the Democratic presidential nominee during the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center in Denver Wednesday.

DENVER — When New York Sen. Hillary Clinton walked onto the floor of the Democratic National Convention late Wednesday afternoon to declare the presidential nomination for her former rival Sen. Barack Obama, there was an almost audible sigh of relief in the Pepsi Center.

Clinton’s decision to call for an end to a late afternoon roll-call vote, into which both her and Obama’s name had been entered, and declare “together in one voice right here and right now” Obama’s claim to the nomination seemed to kick-start the intra-party healing process that many Democrats have been longing for.

“She was very gracious, she was very magnanimous. I didn’t know someone could keep wowing me,” said Sonya Jaquez Lewis, a Boulder County delegate who fought on Clinton’s behalf. “She’s making me look at things another way.”

Lewis is one of Boulder County’s most vociferous Clinton supporters and as recently as Tuesday said that there might be trouble — a walk-out or a protest — on the floor of the Pepsi Center if Clinton’s delegate votes weren’t accounted for properly.

But it appeared that the party’s decision to start a state-by-state roll call to measure the support for both candidates and have Clinton herself bring the process to an end on the floor of the convention averted a potential embarrassment on the eve of Obama’s acceptance speech.

Jonathan Singer, a Longmont delegate to the convention and an Obama backer, said he was moved by the way Clinton officially removed herself from one of the most hard-fought and bitter Democratic primaries in recent history.

“She could have let the roll call go the whole way, but she chose to give Barack Obama the momentum he needs,” he said. “It was the best possible outcome I could have imagined.”

Votes from more than 30 states and territories had been recorded in the hall — with Obama holding an almost-insurmountable lead in the vote count — before Clinton emerged on the floor and joined her fellow elected leaders from the New York delegation.

“I move that the convention suspend the roll-call vote,” she said, as her words were drowned out in a cacophony of cheers from the thousands of delegates in attendance.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced at 4:55 p.m. that Obama is the party’s presidential nominee.

Shari Malloy, a Boulder delegate who was happy to see the Clinton-Obama tug-of-war finally fade to the background, said she was delighted by the New York senator’s selflessness.

“I was just blown away by her leadership, courage, loyalty to our country and our party,” she said.

Once the nomination drama was over, the convention resorted to a more ceremonial tone, with speeches by former President Bill Clinton; former presidential contender Sen. John Kerry; and Obama’s freshly picked running mate, Sen. Joe Biden.

The fourth and final night of the convention — which will feature Obama’s highly anticipated acceptance speech — moves to Invesco Field at Mile High tonight.