Obama gets interesting endorsement

Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has received the endorsement from 2004 Democratic Presidential Candidate, Senator John Kerry. This comes as a surprise since Kerry's VP running mate, John Edwards, is running as well in this race. Kerry's endorsement could have helped Edwards a great deal. According to reports, the Clinton campaign was lobbying for Kerry's endorsement, going so far as to President Bill Clinton himself speaking to those close to Senator Kerry.

Kerry's endorsement of Obama does not surprise me one bit. Edwards was Kerry's running mate because Kerry wanted to get some "insurance" on winning a few southern states in the general elections. For all of Kerry's flip flopping and unorthodox reasoning for his positions, he was never as far left as Edwards is. In fact, Edwards was not a team player during their 2004 run together. The main reason Edwards has run is because he does not seem to want to "accept" a world in which he is not the nominee. His ideology is almost in line with far left ideology, the kind of stuff emanating from the likes of MoveOn.org and The Daily Kos.

Kerry not endorsing Hillary Clinton also is a sign that Kerry "does not forget" disloyalty. The Clintons did not do much to help getting Kerry elected in 2004. I believe this was because the Clintons wanted Kerry to loose so they could take "their shot" in 2008. If Kerry won in 2004, Hillary would have had to wait another 8 years (2012) to run in an open field. Also, Kerry and Clinton have not seen eye to eye on certain issues, such as Education, Iran, North Korea, or Health Insurance.

Also, the endorsement is political strategy at its best. Kerry knew that with the next three states being Michigan, Nevada, and South Carolina, Kerry's endorsement becomes a strong tool for the Obama campaign. In 2004, Kerry won Michigan and Nevada. Kerry and his people know where the bodies are buried in those states. Wins in one of those two states could help propel Obama to South Carolina with another win under his belt and maintain Obama's "electability" credentials.

The specific way this endorsement hurts Senator Clinton is that it solidifies Obama as a "real" Democrat in the eyes of the party faithful. Obama has received a great deal of support from many Independents and Moderate Liberals along with a few Moderate Conservatives. Kerry, who is more left of center than Obama is, is essentially saying, "Don't worry, the 'D' next to his name is legitimate. He may not be another liberal like me, but that doesn't make him any less a democrat." Also, a Kerry endorsement may lead to other endorsements in the next few weeks from those who were still on the fence concerning their decision between Obama and Clinton.