"The race is essentially over" continues the pro-Obama biased media spin to sabotage Sen Clinton's campaign and making a win for him beyond challenge when the nomination process ends. After the Democratic primaries end and the FL and MI issues are resolved, the superdelegates are mandated to select the best qualified presidential candidate using their independent judgment. Delegate math or count has no relevance and of no controlling constraint on the function of the superdelegates. This nomination process is being subverted by the pro-Obama media bias that Obama is the presumptive nominee, the daily endorsements, with fabricated fluff, by Obama superdelegates, and Obama himself acting as the general election candidate.

Edwards endorsement is completely meaningless and it's only the pro-Obama biased media that are building it up into something it is not. Edwards is a TWO-TIME LOSER ENDORSING ANOTHER LOSER IN A QUID PRO QUO DEAL trying to keep afloat Obama's flawed and losing candidacy in the general election.

The race isn't "essentially over." Sen. Clinton is the best qualified and strongest presidential candidate, and she will be the Democratic nominee at the end of a fair and square nomination process.

``She is a woman who, in my judgment, is made of steel,
and she's a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done,'' Edwards said. ``We are a stronger party because Hillary Clinton is a Democrat.''

NOW, the Demacrate primay SO FAR LEFT is
"The Emperor''s New Clothes"

One see the clothes.
One see the color.
One see the body.

Just suck up and move on.

Media, media, media. Man, Hillary supporters have learnt a thing or two from Limbaugh!

No – the race is over. The superdelegate stampede toward Obama is because the DNC realizes that much of Hillary’s support in primaries is from McCain supporters voting for her to draw this out and manufacture a rift in the party. She knows it is over and is (hopefully) trying to go out in class. It would be a Clinton family first.

“After the Democratic primaries end and the FL and MI issues are resolved”
What? Do you mean where these states were given the rules, broke the rules then cry like babies because they didn’t get their way? Now to seat these delegates would to reward those who don’t follow the rules that EVERYONE agreed to. Oh I forgot. The rules can change for a Clinton. Silly me.

Done and done. Obama vs McCain. As soon as McCain gets the spotlight back on him, people will realize that he is following the Bush agenda and Obama will pick up significant independent support. And yes – you Hillary supporters will support him too.

Edwards only matters if he supports HRC.

That is their logic?

Good luck with that.

Good luck to any politician running against Barack. The guy is good, nobody can argue the fact that he is a good politician, speaker and orator.

He has the opportunity to be a great leader - I hope he is able to rise to the challenge.

*****

Pittsburgh – The United Steelworkers today issued the following statement of endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President:

"When the presidential primary contests began last year, our Union felt strongly that because of Senator John Edwards’s deep commitment to working people and because of our shared beliefs, he deserved our strong endorsement. His belief that unfair trade policies must be changed, his commitment to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) to restore workers’ rights to freely choose workplace representation, and his proposal for universal health care were widely shared by our members.

"Today, by virtue of a unanimous vote of our International Executive Board, we find ourselves once again in agreement with Senator Edwards, this time with his decision last evening to endorse Senator Barack Obama. And thus today, the United Steelworkers enthusiastically endorses Senator Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States.

****

Thanks to Edwards not meaning anything, eh?

Capt - Good points. I too hope Obama can rise to the challenge.

I don’t care what the polls say about Hillary having a better chance against McCain. McCain has been lying low. When he gets out there, starts opening his mouth and flip-flopping on policy, he will alienate his independent support and things will swing hard and quick to Obama.

"Edwards only matters if he supports HRC." I think that it goes to the momentum thing. Right now. Edwards may be a 2 time looser, but he is a 2 time looser who pulled 61 delegates. You can count 40 for Obama and 21 for hillary (if she's VERY lucky).

Right now Hillary’s only hope is for Gore to endorse her. That’ll never happen.

Like I said, she can go out with class or play to McCain's hand.

And if Edward's delegates decide to support Barack, the numbers are a nice add.

Time will tell.

As admirable as Edwards is in his concern for poverty, he was not an effective vice presidential candidate. He did not win his home state of North Carolina.

And it's perhaps coincidental, but the past "losers"-- McGovern and Kerry -- have both endorsed Obama while the two-time "winner" -- Bill Clinton -- has endorsed Hillary Clinton. The fact that Obama has the same constituencies as the losers must concern even people who don't like Hillary Clinton.

No, it doesn't matter for the race but it's clearly a campaign strategy that had to be done due to Clinton's overwhelming win in West Virginia the day before. Did it work? At least for that day it sure did.

The problem is that Obama only cares about working class blacks. McCain is much more likely to care about the problems of working class whites.

If Obama gets the nom and doesn't put either edwards or clinton on the ticket, he will lose. He might win the nom with just black and ultra liberals, but he can't win the general election without white middle class voters. And he doesn't have them, even again st a weak candidate like Mcain.
He has shown a continual disdain and lack of consideration
for middle class working people, especially white middle class working people from the industrial midwest.

I always thought Bloomberg, dont know why.

Edwards' stance defused an increasingly polarized intra-party primary race, ignited by the big racially motivated win in West Virginia and the foreseeable Clinton Machine's reaction: "Our states are worth more than your states", "Our votes count more than your votes", ad nauseum.

The attacks were already up and running when Edwards finally made his move (out of a disgust I shared, no doubt).

Hillary got the message and changed both the tone and content of her "message" to the public and the media. Edwards changed the character of the race and helped unite the party.

I still like Richardson for the VP slot, however - although Edwards would make an outstanding Attorney General (and Hillary an effective Senate Majority Leader).

Obama's message remained constant, while Hillary's has now shifted, thanks in large part to Edwards. While her attack dogs (Wolfson etc.) continue to nip at Obama's heels and repeat their specious harping about disenfranchised voters in states whose primaries didn't adhere to the previously accepted party guidelines, the party will never-the-less unite behind Obama and win in November.

David, while I agree with your central premise that the race between Obama and Clinton is over, the Edwards endorsement accomplishes two things for Obama.

First, it is a formal signal to the other superdelegates that it's time to come along and get it finished.

Second, which you touched upon, it doesn't make any difference in Obama's populism but it adds a white populist to the team. Whether or not Edwards can sway white voters is undetermined (after all, he didn't even carry NC for the ticket in 2004). However, the exit polling in W VA indicates that Obama has a problem with racists and religious zealots who remain ignorant about both topics. To them, having a Son of the South endorsement might be as much information as they're ever going to get about Obama. If that's the case, it couldn't hurt.

The Founders believed that having an informed electorate is critical in order for the nation to thrive. In this context, thanks for everything you have done to help inform the electorate.

-Wexler

Yeah, and it's because of the pro-Obama media that Obama has been able to raise the funds to out-spend Clinton (as she keeps bringing up), whereas she's $20 million in debt.

I think the founders would agree that our electorate isn't very informed. Most people, outside of trolls, who visit this site, usually are interested enough in politics to know something about whomever they are supporting. But a huge portion of voters decide based on very vague concepts they've bought into about electability. They are spoon-fed Fox bites and they really don't know that they are voting in people like Bush who don't give a damn about them. The average candidate who gets the support of 'working class whites' always shows himself to be an elitist prick who somehow developed a lop-sided grin and a country brogue during campaign season, the latter of which anyway disappears every Sunday at the Country Club Brunch...

Sadly, many voters in our country go to the polls and vote for people without any clue as to where they stand on the issues; this is why Kerry/Edwards did not carry NC; [I live in rural NC]. Also many people were upset that the media was ignoring Edwards from the start; his platform was the best and most detailed as to how he would turn us around. Edwards endorsement DOES count and will bring more people over to Obama's side.
Also, ...Obama MUST choose Edwards or Clinton to ensure a victory over McCain, due to the ignorant, uninformed, racist Americans who vote not knowing what they are voting for. (Richardson is just a smoke-blower who rides on everyone's coattails, not an effective leader) And this country will not survive another Republican term, period.

This Hispanic/Latina woman will not be voting for Obama, due to the fact he has run a misogynist campaign and none cares (T- shirts reading a bro before a ho.

I guess we can now say - well I supported Obama- I am racist. Yeah right!!!

Number two Donna Brazile stated in CNN that the party does not need ' working ' Americans and Hispanics to win.

Good, I guess racism is OK if it utter by an African American against another minority.

The race IS basically over.
Obama has 1899 delegates and will have the majority of delegates out of the remaining primaries. Pelosi and others have promised to pledge their superdelegates votes to who has the majority by June 3. He will have those votes as well. Barring some freak event, he will have 2,025 by the convention. Florida and Michigan will likely be seated IF its clear they will not change the outcome. Those states broke the rules and cant be allowed to determine the outcome.

IB - You are kidding, right? The "Bro's before Ho's" shirt was not a creation of the Obama campaign, that was done by someone with Photoshop who wanted to sell tee-shirts. Second, Donna Brazile does not speak on behalf of Senator Obama. What I hope you do is take a sober look at your nation's best interests and vote accordingly in November.

LOL, you got that wrong! Were you Aesop in another life? This morning Obama got 8 Edwards deligates, and is very likely to get remaining the 10. If that ain't a big help, what is? That sweet score makes it easier for more Clinton supers to come to Obama.
Hopefully Edwards will also be an active Kentucky campaigner, and later, also stump against John McBush. If not, I'd sure rather have Edwards with us than against us...

Game IS over, nomination-wise.

And Obama has a pretty good chance of being elected president of the USA, since he will be facing McCain, whose platform is bankrupt in the eyes of most Americans who use their heads. Plus the "new face" factor.

But the big question mark is the unconfessable, deep-running and irrational mistrust, dislike and fear of black people on the part of all other components of this society -- white, brown, yellow. If that prevails at the last minute in front of the voting machine....

Anyway, Obama in the Oval Office won't even begin to seriously tackle some of America's most pressing problems, like health care, housing, public transportation and now eve staple food prices. Military spending will continue.

We will all need to support Obama 100% against the hate-filled neocon republican machine of lies and smears. These smear mongers are satanic and wicked and it will be a fight all the way to get a Democrat back into the whitehouse to clear up the damage of Bush/Cheney.

I do trust Obama to fix a lot of the problems in government that Bush has created. I do think he will work with all his might for the benefit of Americans everywhere. Obama will get troops out of Iraq as soon as he can, and he will be a stabilizing force as commander in chief after the ineptness Bush.

Wow, crat3. How many boards have you commented on?

The John Edwards endorsement to support Barack Obama was a pleasant surprise to his camp, and a major defeat to the Clinton Camp, because she had been hoping for that support. Also, I do not believe the media is persuading the public to support Obama, rather I believe the Clinton Camp has been psychologically appealing to the "separate, but equal" doctrine and to only one segment of the population. Clinton never said Obama's blackness was a reason for being "unelectable," but in all of her strategies "to win" she might as well have used these words to influence support. By appealing to only one segment of the voting population, Clinton failed to include the biracial voting block in her campaign, and still has not acknowledged those voters as a legitimate voting block. Rather, it has been easier to divide and polarize people. Clinton likely comes from a place where on Sunday mornings the pastors kissed snakes in the name of Jesus and later in the afternoon they all gathered by the river to watch white men lynch a black man. Thus, her comfort level with black people and knowing how they will respond to her. Her strategies have been harmful and toxic to the extent that many African Americans now support Obama. And for Clinton it was not about winning, but more about keeping a black man from leading this country. She has become an indifferent, bitter white woman looking to beat the black man, even though she benefitted from every piece of civil rights legislation over other ethnics in this nation.

The media has been describing this as a fight, not a contest. Most of the words used to describe Clinton's approach have included "whip," "beat down," and "break him," as if Obama was a candidate for a good lynching.

Only reasonable people in this country are willing to admit that a black man can lead this nation and try to reverse all of the chaos in the economic system, the failing schools, the jobs that leave this country everyday, and the healthcare services unavailable to many white, black and ethnic working Americans. Black leadership in this nation has a visible and productive presence, and is no longer something to be feared. Bush, a white man, has garnered the distinction as the worst president in the history of this country due to the soaring costs of the war and the inexcusable waste by his Administration to squander human lives and natural resources.

Many believe the Clinton strategies are not historic either, but cheap and tawdry, signalling desparation, because she really does not have a plan.

I would love to have a female as our first president, but not Hillary Clinton. She is too polarizing and still believes whiteness translates to privilege. Unfortunately, white men have led this country into an abyss of wasteful degradation with an unethical war and a government that will save a bank before it will save its citizens, who are losing their homes everday. We are the world's largest jailer and we are running out of money, we all pay higher fuel costs to get to work and to purchase food, and yet I cannot believe people are unwilling to support someone who passionately believes the American Dream is slipping away from all of us. Obama is willing to reverse and transform the levels of deprivation, dependence, and loss by getting us all involved in the process. That is CHANGE, because most people elected to Washington have taken care of themselves and forgot about the people.

Besides, I believe Clinton would have a problem engaging all the different voices of diversity at the same table to fix issues Bush will leave us with. And Bush is thinking of striking Iran before he leaves office!!!! I believe you are truly misguided in your perceptions about Barack Obama, and certainly twisted about Clinton, as well as who the media supports.

Clinton comes off as a scorned woman, and is trying to push her way through to the presidency by using racially inflammatory language that implies her superiority as a white woman. Barack Obama, on the other hand, has had to earn every vote, every delegate, and every superdelegate and still engage the American public first to support his candidacy. Inspite of Clinton, Barack Obama has managed a successful campaign and has risen to every occassion where his integrity, character, and experience have been attacked by the Clinton Camp. Obama appeals to many people, and they have joined his campaign to support him and his vision. It is the American people, afterall, who are suffering from the Bush policies, not the Bushes, the Clintons, or even the McCains.

The black guy has earned the right to be nominated, and win the presidency, and to bring some stability to the nation so that all is not lost.

Sadly McCain doesn't have to do much to win over the White Working Class voters. Don't forget that voting is often more about emotion and gut than rational decision making. From my personal experience coming from a blue collar family where people are excited if you graduate high school, when you ask they why did they vote for so and so? The answer is inevitable is just I liked them better and nothing more.

And unless Obama can shake his image of being an educated elite, and get down home honest, face to face with working class and those struggling to be middle class he's going to lose them to McCain. And we'll be seeing the same voting pattern John Kerry had win the progressive educated area and diehard democrats but lose the independents and swing voters.

A wise man once said to me that if you know you can't trust anyone, you will only do business with the people that you like.

In fact, Bill Clinton was kind of likeable even though the world knew him as a flim-flam artist, who made even Rush Limbaugh funny as Bill repeatedly donated endless material to Rush, and to the late night comics. What a disappointment to me his presidentcy became, dashing my high hopes that he might have a heart for the workers. If anything, his administration was a continuation of Bush Sr.

HRC does not even come off as likeable. Moreover I am so certain that this country needs fundemental change in it's core agenda, that I am ready to throw my support to Sen. Obama, Jessie Ventura, or anyone else whose election will demonstrate my distain for the present administration.

I have confidence that no great social change happens in four years anyway, but at least we can open the dialogue. I now have hopes for Obama, though I would like to hear more substance in his pep talks.

The most valuable prize to come from the Edwards endorsement has been the additional delegates & those have certainly helped Obama's efforts to lock down the nomination & contribute to his air of innevitability...