Edwards Endorses Obama

Image credit: The New York Times.


I'm a bit surprised by this, but I suppose I shouldn't be:

At a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Wednesday evening, John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama, who was on the stage with him, to be the Democratic nominee for president.

Sounding a theme of a nation divided into parts by walls, Mr. Edwards said, “The reason I am here tonight is that Democratic voters in America have made their choice and so have I.”

Mr. Edwards then went on to say, “There is one man who knows in his heart that it is time to tear down that wall and make one America, Barack Obama.”

John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama

While Obama's speech on racism, which he gave in the wake of the Jeremiah Wright issue, was certainly compelling, it was, like most of Obama's accomplishments, just a speech. That Obama spent so much time with both Wright and Antoin Rezko, both of whom have done a great deal to make those separations greater, makes me wonder why I should believe there is anything behind those words.

Nevertheless, this has to be a blow to the Clinton campaign, so soon after a resounding win in West Virginia. Edwards' campaign was aimed at working class people, whom Clinton has also courted of late. They represented much of her strength in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. But I suspect the most important thing about this endorsement is its effect on the minds of superdelegates. I think very few Democratic voters will be swayed by Edwards, but what he says may carry weight with professional politicians and other party leaders.

If that's true, we may have seen the end of the Clinton campaign's chances today.

UPDATE (May 15): Speaking of whiny pissants, here's a choice quote from someone at No Quarter:

John Edwards committed a mortal sin. He joined the gang of liberal elitists busily sharpening their long knifes. He chose sudden relevance over democracy. He threw universal health care out the door without bothering to consider the consequences. Edwards will pay a steep price for this betrayal. Plenty of us will not allow the American people to forget what he did and with whom he aligned. Count on it.

With Edwards Relevance Trumps Respect

What more is there to say? Seems to me that the longer these people write, the fewer options they have. What happens when Edwards, or any of the other folks who have been slagged by one side or another, is the one we have to negotiate with for something? Seems to me that would go a lot better if we just said we disagreed and left it at that.

Politics is the art of the possible, not the perfect.

Why not save the invective for the people who really deserve it?