Friday, March 28, 2008

Casey for Obama

Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania came off the sidelines today for a surprise endorsement of Sen. Obama. Sen. Casey had previously pledged to stay neutral citing hopes of brokering the reconciliation between Clinton and Obama once the heated contest had come to a halt.

During Obama's scheduled Pittsburgh rally earlier today, Sen. Casey presented his case for Obama: “I believe in my heart that there is one person who’s uniquely qualified to lead us in that new direction and that is Barack Obama.”

“I really believe that in a time of danger around the world and in division here at home, Barack Obama can lead us, he can heal us, he can help rebuild America,” he said.

Sen. Casey called Clinton on Thursday night to notify her of his intentions to endorse Obama and noted Clinton was "very gracious" in her reception of the news.

The news is huge for Obama. He has been trailing Clinton by 10-15 point margins in Pennsylvania for some time now. Long ago, Clinton received the endorsement of Gov. Rendell who has campaigned vigorously for Clinton. Sen. Casey said he plans to get on board Obama's bus for 3 of the 6 days that Sen. Obama will be touring Pennsylvania.

Sen. Casey will be a strong counterweight to Gov. Rendell. It is unlikely he will be able to campaign as actively as Rendell, but Casey is very popular in the state of Pennsylvania, raking in 59% of the vote in his 2006 senate victory. It still seems unlikely that Obama will be able to pull off a win in the Keystone state, but Sen. Casey's endorsement is likely to help narrow the margin of victory for Clinton. Clinton's chances are fleeting and a narrow win in Pennsylvania should be considered a loss.

Meanwhile, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has called for Clinton to drop out. Sen. Leahy endorsed Obama in February and is fearful of the harm that a prolonged Democratic contest could cause to the Democrats chances to win come November. However, Clinton continues to declare she's in it for the long haul.

The NY Times has some color on Clinton's declaration to trudge on:

As she prepared to depart for two more campaign events in Indiana today, Mrs. Clinton was asked to comment on a remark Mr. Obama made while campaigning in Pennsylvania. He said the presidential race was akin to a good movie, which had lasted too long.

With a smile, she said simply: “I like long movies.”

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Clintons won't leave the race. They don't care about the damage they do to Obama. They don't care about the damage they do to the Democratic party. They are in this for themselves.