Thinking About Endorsements: Do They Matter?

Ticker

Monika Bauerlein,
CEO

Dear Reader,

The next few months are make-or-break for Mother Jones’ fundraising, and we need more online readers to pitch in than have been of late. In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we take a level-headed look at the brutal economics of journalism, why investigative reporting like you get from us matters, and why we're optimistic we can grow our base of support in a big way—starting with hitting a huge $300,000 goal in just three weeks. Please learn more and donate if you can right now.

The next few months are make-or-break for Mother Jones’ fundraising. We need to raise $300,000 quickly, and we need more online readers to pitch in than have been. Please learn more in "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," where we go into the brutal economics of journalism, and what makes Mother Jones unique and worth supporting if you can right now.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

David discusses Obama’s endorsement from Teddy Kennedy below; it will be valuable to BHO if Kennedy can campaign effectively amongst older voters, Latinos, and labor. Those are three constituencies in which Kennedy has some real juice, and Obama trails Clinton. Also, it gives Obama some old-guard cache.

But color me dubious. I’m just not sure endorsements matter. Imagine the thought process that would be necessary: “Well, I’ve seen these candidates in debates, on the late night talk shows, on the front page of my newspaper, on the internet, in their ads, on cable TV—I’ve seen these candidates everywhere in the last few months and have all the information I could possibly need to make a decision. But I’ll just do what Teddy Kennedy says.” Really? In this supersaturated news environment?

I may be wrong. There may be a number of what political experts call “low-information voters” who use things like endorsements as shortcuts. And perhaps there is a generation of Americans whose allegiance to the Kennedy brothers is so strong that an endorsement matters. I’ll concede that—but does anyone care who Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI, if you were wondering) supports?

While we’re on the topic, here is how Clinton’s and Obama’s Senate endorsements break down:

Clinton: Robert Menendez (NJ), Diane Feinstein (CA), Evan Bayh (IN), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Maria Cantwell (WA), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Bill Nelson (FL), Chuck Schumer (NY), Daniel Inouye (HI), and Mark Pryor (AR).

Obama: Claire McCaskill (MO), Patrick Leahy (VT), Dick Durbin (IL), John Kerry (MA), Ben Nelson (NE), Tim Johnson (SD), Kent Conrad (ND), and Ted Kennedy (MA).

Here’s how the Kennedy family endorsements play out:

Clinton: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (RFK’s daughter), Bobby Kennedy Jr. (RFK’s son), and Kerry Kennedy (RFK’s daughter).

Obama: Ted Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy (Ted’s son), and Caroline Kennedy (JFK’s daughter).

Also, Magic Johnson supports Hillary while Charles Barkley and Toni Morrison support Barack. Just so you know.

Update: Most people don’t know this, but MLK III wrote a glowing letter to John Edwards recently. It falls short of a direct endorsement, but it signals King’s support of JE’s candidacy pretty strongly.