Edwards Backs Obama

By Anastacia Mott Austin

I told you he said "him."

I’m referring to a previous Buzzle article in which John Edwards demurred after inadvertently telling a host on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" that he had voted for Obama, saying "I just voted for him on Tuesday."

See, that’s the thing about gender in politics. People will know who you voted for, even if you insist later that you said, "I voted for ’em," because you’re Southern.

Now the cat is officially out of the bag. Edwards endorsed "him" this week, right after Obama’s drubbing in West Virginia. Smart move, say some, because Edwards’ base is made up of those poor, uneducated white folks that Hillary Clinton keeps claiming as her own. Obama’s camp is hoping that Edwards’ endorsement will turn some of them toward Obama.

"The reason I am here tonight is the voters have made their choice and so have I," said Edwards during a rousing joint speech at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to a cheering crowd of 12,000.

"When this nomination battle is over, and it will be over soon, brothers and sisters," Edwards said, "we must come together as Democrats and in the fall stand up for what matters in America and make America what it needs to be."

Edwards was careful to include words of praise for Hillary Clinton, which mostly drew boos in the pro-Obama crowd. "We are a stronger party because Hillary Clinton is a Democrat, we are a stronger country because of her years of public service."

But Edwards emphasized that it is time to unite the party behind one candidate, and while not urging Clinton to drop out, he told the crowd he thought Obama had the ability to unite people. "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," said Edwards.

Clinton’s camp responded to the Edwards’ endorsement by issuing a statement which read, "We respect John Edwards. But as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over."

The endorsement has set tongues a-wagging about whether Obama might choose Edwards as his running mate, once (I mean if) he secures the nomination. Apparently sources close to both men have confirmed that it is at least a possibility.

One person who still has not come forward with an endorsement is Edwards’ wife, Elizabeth, whom many have said supports Hillary Clinton. "I would not speak for Elizabeth," said Obama after praising both John and Elizabeth’s efforts in the area of health care.

But Obama is likely quite happy to have the backing of John Edwards, who he hopes will help him win over working-class white Americans, as well as the 18 delegates who had previously pledged to support Edwards.

David "Mudcat" Saunders, who advised Edwards during his earlier campaign, told reporters in South Carolina that Obama "ought to kiss Johnny Edwards on the lips" for his support and the diversion of attention from the thumping Obama took in West Virginia.