By Jeff Mason
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (Reuters) - Former U.S. presidentialcandidate John Edwards endorsed Democrat Barack Obama onWednesday, giving a major boost to the Illinois senator'seffort 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.
"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.
"I have no doubt that John Edwards can be extremely helpfulto us campaigning in every demographic," Obama told reporterson his plane, adding that he hoped to get Edwards' delegates,estimated to number about 18, as well.
He said Edwards would "be on anybody's short list" for thevice presidency but said further comment would be premature.
Obama gained the support of four more superdelegates --party officials free to back any candidate -- as well as theabortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America on Wednesday.
Edwards praised Clinton's "strength and character" but saidit was time for Democrats to unite against McCain. He calledObama on Tuesday night to tell him he was ready to make theendorsement, an Obama aide said.
The backing of Edwards could help Obama attract whiteworking-class voters who have flocked to Clinton in recentcontests. The former North Carolina senator made a populisteconomic agenda on behalf of lower and middle income workers acentrepiece of his presidential bid, and has focused heavily onefforts to battle poverty.
Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, won thevotes of fewer than one-quarter of whites without collegedegrees in West Virginia, exit polls showed, similar to hisshowing in other states.
Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, who has cancer and is awell-known political figure, did not accompany Edwards to theObama 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," hercampaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, said in a statement.
The New York senator spent Wednesday in Washington doingmedia interviews and meeting with donors. She promised to keeprunning until the last of the five remaining state contestsconcludes 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 (10.3 million pounds) indebt but McAuliffe said she had the resources to compete withObama and described her donors as "very excited, ready to goand 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 thenomination. To win, both need superdelegates, with whom Obamahas been gaining ground for weeks.
He also picked up the backing of three former chairmen ofthe Securities and Exchange Commission, including WilliamDonaldson, who was appointed by Republican President George W.Bush.
Obama spent the day in Michigan, where he touted plans fora $150 billion clean technologies fund to create new jobs andpromote fuel-efficient vehicles. Focusing on November's contestwith McCain, Obama said the Arizona senator "is not offeringnew solutions or economic policies that are different from whatGeorge Bush has given us for eight long years."
Obama's visit to Michigan was his first since he signed apledge last year promising not to campaign in the state becauseof its dispute with the national party over the timing of itsprimary election.
Clinton won in Michigan and Obama's name was not on theballot. She also won a disputed race in Florida and is pushingfor delegates from both states to be seated at the convention.
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 and Ellen Wulfhorst;Writing by John Whitesides, Editing by Patricia Zengerle)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp:/blogs.reuters.com/trail08/ )
