Obama Lands Endorsement of Bill Richardson
After a perilous week of racial controversy, Barack Obama showed the continued strength of his efforts against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining the coveted endorsement of former candidate and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
While Sen. Clinton's chief strategist sought to dismiss the Richardson endorsement Friday, Gov. Richardson's choice of Illinois' Sen. Obama was a blow to her on several levels, not least because it lent much-needed lift to her rival. For days, Sen. Obama has been on the defensive over racially charged remarks, widely viewed over the Internet, from his longtime pastor.
As a Mexican-American, Gov. Richardson is a leader among Hispanic voters, a group that has been particularly supportive of Sen. Clinton, but which Sen. Obama has refused to cede. She narrowly won his state's nominating contest in February, helped by Hispanic support.
In their joint appearance Friday before an estimated 12,000 in Portland, Ore., Gov. Richardson said that as a Hispanic, he was "particularly touched" by Sen. Obama's Wednesday speech on racial understanding -- a response to the furor over his minister's comments decrying America's injustice to blacks. Speaking in Spanish, Gov. Richardson called Sen. Obama "un buen amigo" -- a good friend -- of Hispanics.
Gov. Richardson's support is also helpful because he is a leader among the 795 Democratic "superdelegates" to the party's late August nominating convention. These governors, members of Congress and party officials can pick the candidate of their choice, as opposed to the pledged delegates the candidates win through the votes in the primaries and caucuses.
More
big deal.
this may have done The BarackStar! some good if he had done it before new mexico, or even texas.
richardson was supported by at least several dozen democrats in the three or four primaries that he ran in before he dropped out. well, he officially dropped out; but he had ceased to exist long before he finally left the race.
