Edwards (finally) Supports Obama

Consider it a "foregone conclusion..."

On Wednesday, former Senator and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards gave his belated support for presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) in, of all places, Grand Rapids, which according to one blogger is "the heart of conservative West Michigan."

I'm not saying that Edwards' endorsement wasn't necessary for Obama to win the nomination; if anything it practically makes it a done deal as it does, most assuredly, give Barack a needed ally when it comes to grassroots and blue collar voters. The one thing that perplexes me about the whole thing is its timing of his recommendation. Why did he endorse Obama now, why not last month or perhaps after Super Tuesday? What brought about Edwards' sanctioning of Barack in mid-May and not in mid-March or earlier? What took him so long to make his decision anyway?

Was it because of the results of the West Virginia Democratic primary on Tuesday? Obama's opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) beat him in rather Pyrrhic fashion by nearly 40 points. Of course, this win and her projected win in Kentucky next week isn't exactly denting Barack's lead in the delegate totals, but it does show a considerable problem in Obama's run for the White House; his seeming inability to win the hearts and minds of rural voters, white blue collar workers, older Americans, and the like. With Edwards' endorsement of him and his campaign, this goes a long way in bridging the gap in this respect, but its by no means a "cure-all" either.

In an article on Newsweek.com, Andrew Romano had a rather interesting point that resonated with me. He stated that:

"With the primaries essentially over, Edwards is basically stepping into his inevitable general election role—a passionate, respected, credible general-election liaison to blue-collar America who sways skeptics by saying "I'm one of you and here's why I support this guy"—a few weeks early."

This is essentially true. Edwards' endorsement of Obama gives the latter some amount of blue collar "street cred" if you will (but, only so much) and it is, ultimately, Obama's use of this "cred" given to Obama by Edwards, which will determine the outcome in areas where they are the predominant factor in the election.

However, Edwards' rather tardy endorsement of Obama could have come sooner rather than now and probably, with his endorsement along with other conditions, we would not be in the presidential candidate "pickle" that we in the Democratic Party are facing now. I'm not saying that his endorsement would have cured all of Obama's Presidential candidate problems, I'm just saying that the timing of it could have been more opportune. Mr. Romano from the Newsweek.com article agrees with me in that, ultimately, Edwards' endorsement probably will not make a dent in the last few primary races left on the schedule. Accordingly, he wrote:

"Will the Edwards endorsement actually change anything? It's unlikely—and the reason is timing. If the former North Carolina senator had taken a real risk and sided with the Illinois senator back when someone not named "Barack Obama" had even the remotest chance of clinching the nomination—say, before Super Tuesday, or Ohio, or even Indiana—he might have helped his blue-collar base overcome its suspicions, vote for his chosen candidate and bring this interminable battle to an end...So from that point on [May 6th's NC and IN primaries,] Edwards endorsing Obama was a foregone conclusion. Edwards is a Democrat. Obama's the Democratic nominee. It had to happen eventually."

As it is, Edwards adds another puzzle piece to the rapidly completing Democratic presidential candidate puzzle. Obama just needs a few more wins (and they do not have to be really convincing ones) will give him the nomination, no matter the delegate or super-delegate count. Yet, it must be said that his seeming inability to garner blue collar voters and the nagging argument that he is somehow "elitist" must be addressed and remedied by November (with the help of Edwards) if the Presidency is to be his.

Otherwise...he will fare badly and lose the general election; thus, there will be yet another pale Republican in the White House screwing things up.