It took awhile to happen, but he finally did it. After months of speculation about which way he'd lean, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards took the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan to endorse one of his former rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"The Democratic voters in America have made their choice," he told a capacity crowd, "and so have I." With that, Barack Obama picked up one of the final high profile endorsements still remaining in the Democratic Party.
Edwards' endorsement is a prize more valuable than a superdelegate or some other stepping-stone on the path to the Democratic nomination. In fact, the former candidate doesn't even have a vote at the convention in November. Numerically, Edwards' support has no bearing whatsoever on the Democratic primary. But his endorsement of the Illinois Senator wasn't really about that.
Edwards stepping forward at this point is entirely a general election move. Hillary Clinton's White House hopes have hit a statistical wall, and regardless of whether or not they are happy about it, 99% of Democrats are well aware that she's not going to be the standard bearer for her party in the fall. The setting of Edward's announcement on Wednesday was telling. He wasn't campaigning for Obama in Kentucky, a predominantly white state that is a stone's throw from his own, in which Hillary Clinton is heavily favored in the primary contest next Tuesday. He was in Michigan, a state that has already voted, and will not vote again until November. What it all adds up to is that Edwards wasn't going to help Obama in the primary at all.
Had Edwards announced his support just prior to Texas, Pennsylvania, or Indiana, he may have had an impact on the outcome of the primary. But for all intents and purposes, the race for the nomination is over. And as far as Edwards and Obama are concerned, there is a new battle on the horizon.
It's tough to measure the weight of Edwards endorsement now, especially when the backing of people like Senators Ted Kennedy and Chris Dodd come with a quantifiable value attached to it- they're delegates at the convention. The significance of Edwards' support will be immeasurable in the months to come.
Perhaps like no election since George Wallace ran back in 1964 has race played as vital a role as it has in 2008. Come November, Obama will need a way to bridge the gap to bring in the white vote that Hillary Clinton has so often claimed as her own, but he'll need to do it without Clinton. By any practical measure, an Obama-Clinton ticket doesn't work for a whole host of reasons, but there is a serious risk in alienating the vast army of Clinton supporters.
Edwards solves that problem. As much as I hate to continue the racially-based political analysis, think about it: Edwards represents every aspect of Clinton's appeal to white voters, maybe even more so than Clinton does. At a campaign stop in Iowa last year, Edwards had a comment that drew a few laughs, but is quite prophetic when taken in today's contest: "I'll just point out the obvious," he said. "In the past- can I do the math, 45, 50 years- what is it, the last two Democrats who actually got elected president? Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Both of them talk like I do."
Edwards pulls in the South, the Midwest, the Heartland, and the generic white vote that not even Clinton could hope to do. He's already off on a multi-state tour touting Obama's presidential pedigree. All over the country, people like Edwards. And the fact is, when the South Carolina native gets up and tells Americans, "I trust this Obama guy, you should vote for him," it's going to carry a lot of weight.
In short: John Edwards might be Obama's best bet for a running mate. Considering Obama's success among African-Americans in the Deep South, a ticket that includes Edwards might be Democrats best chance to win outside of the typical Democratic mainstays on the west coast and New England in decades.
For his part, Edwards was wise to withhold his endorsement. Three months ago, his word would have been lost in a sea of other endorsements, and perhaps it would have been even less impressive with his lack of superdelegate status. But because Edwards waited, his endorsement took on a new prominence.
Without a doubt, Edwards helps Obama. He pulls in serious voters that otherwise might have gone the other way, allowing Obama to be competitive in places he might not have been. What remains to see is just how Obama will put him to use.
