John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama in Michigan Wednesday, ending months of speculation and adding to the growing consensus that Obama is on an irreversible path to become his party’s nominee.

The former Democratic presidential candidate and North Carolina senator said Obama was the candidate best able to build “one America,” as he spoke at length about the ongoing fight to end poverty, improve health care and take down the “wall” separating corporate America from working-class America.

“The reason I am here tonight is the Democratic voters of America have made their choice and so have I,” Edwards told a cheering crowd of more than 12,000 supporters at the Grand Rapids, Mich., arena. “There is one man who knows in his heart that it is time to create one America — not two — and that man is Barack Obama.”

The endorsement helped soften the blow after Obama lost the West Virginia primary to Hillary Clinton the night before by 41 points.

Edwards is not a superdelegate, but Obama and Clinton persistently have sought his endorsement ever since he dropped out of the primary contest at the end of January.

Until now, Edwards had given only scattered clues as to whom he might support. Even when his state of North Carolina voted last Tuesday, he kept his name out of the mix.

But Obama won North Carolina by double digits, and since then he has pocketed dozens more superdelegate endorsements.

Though Clinton scored a landslide victory Tuesday in West Virginia, it did little to change Obama’s daunting delegate lead.

The Clinton campaign tried to brush off the Edwards announcement. Campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe released a statement saying: “We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over.”

Edwards showered just as much praise on Clinton Wednesday, saying she believes deeply in her push for universal health care, and that her against-the-odds fight for the nomination demonstrates her “strength and character.”

Obama’s loss Tuesday still highlighted the trouble he has winning over white, working-class voters. Edwards was a champion of working-class Americans during his campaign, and passed his fight to end poverty on to his rivals when he left the race in January.

Obama has since signed on to Edwards’ anti-poverty initiative, which he launched Tuesday with the goal of reducing poverty in the United States by half within 10 years.

Edwards praised him for that move Wednesday evening.

“This election is about taking down these walls that divide us,” Edwards said. “Barack Obama understands that to his core.”

Speaking after Edwards in the packed Van Andel Arena, Obama gave one of his most animated addresses in days, much of it devoted to fighting poverty. In America, he said, “you should never be homeless, you should never be hungry.”

As president, he vowed to “lift up every American out of poverty.”

Obama later told reporters on his plane that Edwards can help draw working-class voters and others to his campaign.

“I have no doubt that John Edwards can be extremely helpful to us campaigning in every demographic. But his passion and credibility when it comes to issues of poverty and the plight of working people in this country, I think, is a message that is powerful and one that fits with the kind of vision I have for America,” he said.

Former Edwards adviser Chris Kofinis also told FOX News the endorsement could help Obama gain the trust of blue-collar voters.

“It’s a significant event if for no other reason, he helps unify and move the party forward, and it really, I think, puts the Clinton campaign … behind the eight-ball,” he said.

Obama aides said the two spoke Tuesday night when Obama arrived in Michigan, and that Edwards decided Wednesday to endorse.

Edwards’ wife, Elizabeth, who has said she thinks Clinton has the superior health care plan, did not travel with him to Michigan and is not part of the endorsement.

Edwards still has 19 delegates to his name, according to Associated Press tallies — won in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Most of 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.

Obama has a total of 1,887 delegates, leaving him just 139 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination. Clinton has 1,718 delegates, according to the latest tally by The Associated Press.

David “Mudcat” Saunders, a chief adviser for Edwards on rural affairs during his presidential campaign, said the timing of the endorsement couldn’t be better given Obama’s resounding loss in West Virginia.

“For Barack Obama, I think he ought to kiss Johnny Edwards on the lips to kill this 41-point loss,” he added. “The story is not going to be the 41-point loss. It’s going to be Edwards’ endorsement.”

The Republican National Committee was quick to release a statement ridiculing the endorsement.

“Barack Obama and John Edwards share an out-of-touch agenda that would raise taxes on families while cutting funding for our troops. The only question is why didn’t Edwards endorse sooner? Edwards’ endorsement of a candidate he previously blasted as inexperienced, hypocritical, and lacking substance will not help Obama with voters looking for real change,” Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan said in the statement.

FOX News’ Bonney Kapp and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.