Edwards backs Obama's White House bid
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (Reuters) - Former U.S. presidentialcandidate John Edwards endorsed Democrat Barack Obama onWednesday, giving a major boost to the Illinois senator'sefforts to unify the party behind his bid for the White House.
Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, had beenheavily courted by both Obama and rival Hillary Clinton in thepast few months.
"The reason I am here tonight is the Democratic voters inAmerica have made their choice and so have I," Edwards, whodropped out of this year's Democratic race in January, said ata rally with Obama in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
"There is one man who knows in his heart that it is time tocreate one America, not two, and that man is Barack Obama," hesaid, as Obama sat on a stool behind him.
The long-awaited endorsement helped blunt the impact ofClinton's landslide 41-point win over Obama in West Virginia onTuesday. That result barely put a dent in Obama's lead in theDemocratic race for the right to face Republican John McCain inNovember's presidential election.
Obama has an almost unassailable advantage in delegates whowill pick the nominee at the party's convention in August, andhas turned his attention to a general election match-up withMcCain for the past week.
He gained the support on Wednesday of four moresuperdelegates -- party officials who are free to back anycandidate -- as well as the abortion rights group NARALPro-Choice America.
Edwards praised Clinton's "strength and character" but saidit was time for Democrats to come together against McCain. Hecalled Obama on Tuesday night to tell him he was ready to makethe endorsement, an Obama aide said.
The backing of Edwards, a former North Carolina senator,could aid Obama's efforts to win the support of the whiteworking-class voters who have flocked to Clinton in recentcontests.
Edwards made a populist economic agenda on behalf of lowerand middle income workers a centrepiece of his presidentialcampaign, and has focused heavily on efforts to battle U.S.poverty.
Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, wonfewer than one-quarter of whites without college degrees inWest Virginia, exit polls showed, similar to his showing inother states.
Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, who suffers from cancer and hasbecome a well-known political figure, did not accompany Edwardsto the Obama rally. She has not endorsed either candidate.
Clinton's campaign shrugged off the endorsement.
'FAR FROM OVER'
"We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of WestVirginia showed last night, this thing is far from over,"Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, said in astatement.
Clinton, a senator from New York, spent Wednesday inWashington doing a round of media interviews and meeting withtop donors. She promised to keep running until the last of thefive remaining state contests concludes on June 3.
"We don't have a nominee yet and until we do, I'm going tobe making my case," she said on Fox News.
Clinton's campaign is $20 million in debt but McAuliffesaid she had the resources to compete with Obama and describedher donors as "very excited, ready to go and ready to help."
Clinton added one superdelegate endorsement on Wednesday.
A delegate count by MSNBC gives Obama 1,885 delegates toClinton's 1,722 -- both short of the 2,025 needed to clinch theDemocratic nomination. Neither candidate can win without helpfrom superdelegates, and Obama has been gaining ground amongthem for weeks.
He also picked up the backing of three former chairmen ofthe Securities and Exchange Commission, including WilliamDonaldson, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush.
Obama spent the day in Michigan, where he courtedworking-class voters and touted plans for a $150 billion cleantechnologies fund to create new jobs and promote fuel-efficientvehicles.
He looked past the race with Clinton to focus on November'scontest with McCain. He said the Arizona senator "is notoffering new solutions or economic policies that are differentfrom what George Bush has given us for eight long years."
Obama's visit to Michigan was his first trip there since hesigned a pledge last year promising not to campaign in thestate because of its dispute with the national party over thetiming of its primary election.
Clinton won the Michigan contest and Obama's name was noton the ballot. She also won a disputed race in Florida and ispushing for delegates from both states to be seated at theconvention.
Five more contests remain in the Democratic nominatingbattle, with a combined 189 delegates at stake. Oregon andKentucky vote on May 20, Puerto Rico on June 1, and Montana andSouth Dakota on June 3.
(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan, Ellen Wulfhorst andJeff Mason; Writing by John Whitesides, Editing by Eric Walsh)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp:/blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)