At least one elected official has come over into the Obama camp. Yesterday the following emails were sent through the Utah for Obama ListServ:
It appears that Richardson is poised to announce that he will pull out of the presidential race tomorrow. Conflicting reports in the media, but overall it looks true.And a reply:
This opens up the possibility that many Utah political leaders could switch their support to Obama. We need to start working them! -JANET
Janet,I've heard rumors of some others who will also be turning to Senator Obama, and I can't wait until they are publicly confirmed.
I was a Richardson guy but I am now supporting Obama.
Sen. Scott McCoy
[Update] On a related note, the AP is reporting that John Kerry will be announcing his endorsement of Senator Obama today.
[Update 2] John Kerry's endorsement has arrived. And Edwards seems to be taking it in stride.
Our country and our Party are stronger because of John's service, and I respect his decision. When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues. I continue to believe that this election is about the future, not the past, and that the country needs a President who will fight aggressively to end the status quo and change the Washington system and to give voice to all of those whose voices are ignored in the corridors of power.Kerry's statement is here.
South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson and Congressman George Miller (D-CA) have also announced their endorsements of Senator Obama. First Read has some interesting commentary on Miller's endorsement.
I know Barack Obama is Mr. Excitement, however John Edwards is the next best choice for Richardson supporters. Edwards has promised to withdraw completely from Iraq within 10 months of taking office.
ReplyDeleteI think that Edwards isn't going to be every Richardson supporter's next choice. Barack's web site says:
ReplyDeleteObama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
I think that a good portion of previous Richardson supporters will appreciate that not only has Barack promised to bring troops home, he introduced legislation last year to bring troops home by March '08, and he has had sound judgment about Iraq all along.
Iraq isn't the only issue, either. Some may go to Edwards, but I have no doubt that a large number of Richardson supporters will join in supporting Barack Obama.
I don't know that a John Kerry endorsement or Bill Richardson dropping out does much for our man Obama. Sure, he presumably gets some tactical advantage in access to Kerry's supporter database, but is anyone really going to be swayed by John Kerry?
ReplyDeleteWhat would (will) be interesting is when Edwards drops out. Where will his votes go? At this point, his candidacy is a bit quixotic and it seems only to be hurting Obama's campaign - who like Edwards, I think, is more reform-oriented than Clinton.
That said, I was really impressed with Edwards' reaction to Kerry's endorsement, and loved his concession speech (yes, he repeated in New Hampshire) after Iowa.