Politics

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CBS) ― Sen. Barack Obama will be back in Chicago on Thursday, and he may talk about the coveted endorsement he received from former rival John Edwards.

Edwards' endorsement is designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

On Wednesday, Edwards made a surprise appearance with Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich., as Obama campaigns in a critical general election battleground state.

Edwards had been their chief rival from 2007 through last January. But after finishing second to Obama in Iowa, the former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee placed third in the next three contests, then left the race.

Obama and Clinton immediately sought his support, but Edwards stayed mum until Wednesday. The endorsement would have carried more clout had Edwards made it months ago, when the outcome of the Democratic contest was very much in doubt.

"We are here tonight because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I," Edwards said to thunderous applause Wednesday. He said Obama "stands with me" in a fight to cut poverty in half within 10 years, a claim Obama confirmed moments later.

Edwards told the rally that "we must come together as Democrats" to defeat Republican John McCain in November.

He also praised Clinton.

"We are a stronger party" because of her involvement and "we're going to have a stronger nominee in the fall because of her work," he said.

Then as Edwards sat on stage and watched, Obama gave one of his most animated addresses in days, much of it devoted to fighting poverty. In America, he said, "you should never be homeless, you should never be hungry."

Obama continued to set his sights on a general election campaign, taking aim at presumptive republican nominee John McCain.

"John McCain is offering eight more years of the same," said Obama. "Eight more years of a cramped vision of what's possible in America."

Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a statement: "We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over."

A person close to Edwards, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he wanted to get involved now to begin unifying the party. Edwards and Obama spoke by phone Tuesday night, and Edwards agreed to fly to Grand Rapids the next day.

Edwards didn't even tell many of his former top advisers of his decision because he wanted to inform Clinton personally, said the person close to him. His wife, Elizabeth, who has said she thinks Clinton has the superior health care plan, did not accompany him and is not part of the endorsement.

The endorsement came a day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in the West Virginia primary. The loss highlighted Obama's challenge in winning over the "Hillary Democrats" — white, working-class voters who also supported Edwards in significant numbers before he exited the race in late January.

But Edwards' endorsement also comes after a week in which Sen. Obama won more superdelegates than Hillary Clinton's West Virginia landslide gave her in pledged delegates Tuesday night.

"This is a major blow to Hillary Clinton's hopes of winning over the vast majority of superdelegates she would need to stake a claim on the nomination," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "In the wake of her 40-point win in West Virginia, Clinton has made a direct appeal to party leaders to at least stop and consider their choice. Having a big name still on the sidelines so quickly ignore that plea is a sign it's having little impact."

After the announcement, speculation about Obama choosing Edwards for the ticket's vice-presidential spot replaced, at least temporarily, talk of an Obama-Clinton ticket. When Edwards was the vice presidential nominee four years ago, Democrats lost his home state of North Carolina.

Even if this endorsement does not sway voters, it brings Obama delegates.

"He technically brings more delegates with him than she won (Tuesday) night in that big victory in West Virginia," said political strategist Don Rose.

Both Obama and Clinton immediately asked Edwards for his endorsement, but he stayed mum for more than four months. His endorsement would have carried far more clout if he had made it in February, when the Obama-Clinton outcome was very much in doubt.

A person close to Edwards, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he wanted to get involved now to begin unifying the party. Obama also signed on to Edwards' anti-poverty initiative, which he launched Tuesday with the goal of reducing poverty in the United States by half within 10 years.

When he made his decision, Edwards didn't even tell many of his former top advisers because he wanted to inform Clinton personally, said the person close to him. Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, who has said she thinks Clinton has the superior health care plan, did not travel with him to Michigan and is not part of the endorsement.

David "Mudcat" Saunders, a chief adviser for Edwards on rural affairs during his presidential campaign, said the endorsement should take some sting out of Obama's resounding loss in West Virginia.

"For Barack Obama, I think he ought to kiss Johnny Edwards on the lips to kill this 41-point loss," Saunders said.

"I haven't been seeing John as much," Obama said. "So, I forgot how good he is."

"No matter who your family is and no matter what the color of your skin, none of those things will control your destiny. And that that one America that I have talked about is not only possible, but it will be achieved under President Barack Obama beginning in 2009," Edwards said.

Edwards waged a scrappy underdog campaign for the Democratic nomination, always outshone by the historic nature of Obama possibly being the first black nominee and Clinton the first woman. He continued to campaign after the family disclosed that Elizabeth's breast cancer had returned.

Obama has 1,883 delegates and Clinton has 1,711 delegates, according to the latest tally by CBS News.

Edwards has 19 pledged delegates won in three states: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Most of the those delegates have already been selected, meaning they are technically free to support whomever they choose at the party's national convention, regardless of Edwards' endorsement.

CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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