"Edwards Makes Safe Endorsement Of Obama"

Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

Edwards made a surprise appearance with Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich., as the Illinois senator campaigns in a critical general election battleground state.

The endorsement came a day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in the West Virginia primary. The loss highlighted Obama's challenge in winning over the "Hillary Democrats" — white, working-class voters who also supported Edwards in significant numbers before he exited the race in late January.

Edwards, who received a thunderous ovation when Obama introduced him to a crowd of several thousand, said, "brothers and sisters, we must come together as Democrats" to defeat McCain. "We are here tonight because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I."

He said Obama "stands with me" in a fight to cut poverty in half within 10 years.

Edwards also praised Clinton, saying "we are a stronger party" because of her involvement, and "we're going to have a stronger nominee in the fall because of her work."

He said Clinton is a "woman who is made of steel. She is a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done."

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and the 2004 vice presidential nominee, finished second to Obama in the Iowa caucus in early January before coming in third in the following three contests. He dropped out in New Orleans, the location a reminder of his attention to poverty.

Both Obama and Clinton immediately asked Edwards for his endorsement, but he stayed mum for more than four months. His endorsement would have carried far more clout if he had made it in February, when the Obama-Clinton outcome was very much in doubt.

Edwards has 19 pledged delegates won in three states: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Most of the those delegates have already been selected, meaning they are technically free to support whomever they choose at the party's national convention, regardless of Edwards' endorsement

    Former Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards has now made what appears the "safe" endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for the Democrat nomination in '08. Though I was an ardent supporter of John Edwards up to the New Hampshire primary debate and subsequently switched my support to Hilary Clinton, I still had hope that Edwards would endorse Hilary. (There were two things I liked about John Edwards, his "life story" and his "fight rhetoric" but in the New Hampshire debate I saw Hilary Clinton as the true "fighter") In my opinion it was Hilary that took up the John Edwards mantle and constituency but in the typical "politics as usual" manner, John Edwards has picked the presumptuous "winner", Barack Obama. While endorsing Obama, John Edwards did give Hilary Clinton kudos for her fighting spirit and great resolve, in the face of  apparent defeat. I hope the Edwards pledged delegates (who are free to vote for Obama or Clinton) will see the error of the Edwards endorsement and vote for Hilary in the convention this August. I hope they understand that America needs a fighting leader in '08 not an oratorical philosopher.

tags: john edwards  barack obama  hilary clinton  2008  politics  takebackamerica  us  president  obama  clinton  power  democrats  

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit