Democracy for New Mexico: (Updated) Breaking: Edwards to Endorse Obama

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

(Updated) Breaking: Edwards to Endorse Obama

Update: Video clip of Edwards' endorsement

The one many have been waiting for: According to a post by Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post, John Edwards will endorse Obama for president tonight in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This former Edwards supporter is very happy with this news! Edwards has 18 pledged delegates, but it's not clear whether they'd all switch to supporting Obama. This is the second big endorsement for Obama today. Earlier, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced its support for Barack. The group has supported Hillary Clinton throughout her political career. From Cillizza:

Matt Bennett, a former Clinton Administration official, described Edwards as the "troubadour of the working class" and said the North Carolina senator's endorsement of Obama makes it "tougher for Clinton to make the case that working class Democrats can't [or] won't support Obama."

... Aside from the obvious demographic benefits an Edwards endorsement could have, his decision to throw his backing behind Obama also has symbolic import. Edwards is widely seen as one of the major party figures who had remained on the sidelines in the race between Clinton and Obama. That he has stepped in to the fray in hopes of, perhaps, bringing this race to an end should send a powerful signal to undecided superdelegates about the direction of the contest.

Former senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, a major Obama backer, told CNN: "I think John Edwards is a tremendous national leader and obviously it's no seceret that we've been trying to get his support, his endorsement, his supporters, his counsel as we go through the balance of this campaign for a long period of time."

"All I know is that it's very, very important that as we go forwards, we unite this party," Daschle added. "John and Elizabeth Edwards have a tremendous following in our party. The more we can unite along with their leadership and their followership, the better off our party and the better off Barack Obama is going to be in November."

Technorati Tags:Barack Obama, John Edwards, endorsements, Democrats, presidential nomination

May 14, 2008 at 04:23 PM in 2008 Presidential Primary | Permalink

Comments

Congrats to Obama on getting another endorsement. However, does the Edwards endorsement mean anything at this stage of the election.

I think Obama has the nomination sealed up already. However, his bigger issue is the dilemma of convincing WHITE blue-collars to give Obama a chance. If anyone was paying attention LAST NIGHT....Obama lost West Virginia by a margin of 67% to 26%. I think it is gonna take more than a speech by John Edwards to make a dent in that race-gap. Like it or not, West Virginia is a SWING state that can go either way this November. Bill Clinton was able to win West Virginia, Ohio, and Florida by attracting WHITE Blue-Collars. Sadly, Al Gore and John Kerry did not have much luck in erasing the "elitist" label.
It is one thing to be excited and happy for our NEW nominee....it's another thing to actually WIN in November. Sadly not all of America is filled with fellow progressives like California and New York. Shockingly we have to gain the trust of people like Ohio, WV, New Mexico, Florida, Michigan, and New Hampshire. Those folks need attention too.

The BIGGER question is what will Obama's strategy be in WINNING in November. Are there sufficient amount of African Americans and youth voters age 18-25 to OVERTAKE the popular John McCain. Will Obama be forced to pick Hillary as a VP in order to put a "band-aid" on the divisive wounds on the Democrat Party or will Obama make the daring attempt to start BRAND NEW and create a new and different DEMOCRAT PARTY by removing the "Reagan Democrats" and adding the new "Generation Z"---aka voters age 18-25.

Posted by: | May 14, 2008 9:00:10 PM

Thanks for your concern, troll. Here's the tell: