Edwards endorsement pays off for Obama EIGHT MORE DELEGATES TODAY

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 15, 2008
Filed at 4:38 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barack Obama collected the support of four of John Edwards' Democratic National Convention delegates on Thursday, then gained the backing of four superdelegates and a large labor union as he marched steadily toward the party's presidential nomination.

The fresh support brought Obama's overall delegate total to 1,895, compared to 1,718 for his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. It takes 2,026 to clinch the nomination at the party convention in Denver this summer.

Edwards, who bestowed his long-sought endorsement on Obama on Wednesday, won 19 delegates before departing the presidential race in January.

Within hours, Obama picked up the backing of three of them from South Carolina and one in New Hampshire.

In addition, three superdelegates -- Reps. James McDermott of Washington, and Henry Waxman and Howard Berman of California -- endorsed Obama.

''I believe now is the time to unite behind Barack Obama so we can be in the strongest place possible to win in November,'' McDermott said.

Waxman said in a statement: ''I have the greatest respect and admiration for Senator Clinton and former President Clinton ... It is now clear, however, that the Democratic Party is nearing a broad consensus on our nominee.''

Edwards had been backed by the United Steelworkers Union, which announced it would now support Obama. The union has 600,000 active members, many of them blue-collar workers of the type that have favored Clinton in recent primaries.

Obama also picked up the personal endorsement of superdelegate Larry Cohen, the president of the Communication Workers of America union.

I dont really think it had much to do with edwards though. People can see the writing on the wall even if some on DU cant.

but delegates are delegates! LOL

When a pledged delegate is released by a candidate s/he is free to support whomever they want, which essentially makes them a "superdelegate." All the other delegates are bound to support the candidate to which they've been pledged until the first nominating ballot at the convention. If there is no nominee after the first ballot, all delegates are free to support whomever.

So, all that means that the 19 pledged delegates Edwards released yesterday are essentially superdelegates, as they are now un-pledged.

:kick:

;)

It upstaged West Virginia. And now they're bringing out more SDs, or maybe the endorsement lured them out -- either way, it plays well.

It's a shame that such games have to be played; but with HRC playing a spoiler role, the games DO have to be played. And they are being played well.