Obama Starts Off The Day With Superdelegates

Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly endorsed Obama this morning, moving Barack's gap to the nomination 149 delegates. The press release is below.

UPDATE: New Orlean Mayor Ray Nagin, another superdelegate, has also endorsed Obama (statement below). Also, the Washington Post reports that one of Clinton's pledged delegates from Maryland has announced that he will support Obama at the convention.

UPDATE: Former DNC Chair (and Colorado governor) Roy Romer makes three.

UPDATE: Anita Bonds, the chairwoman of D.C.'s Democratic party came out, rather unexpectedly, for Obama late last night.

CHICAGO, IL -- Today, Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly endorsed Barack Obama for President, citing his commitment to working families and building a real coalition for change:

"Today, I am pleased to announce my support for Barack Obama. At a time when too many Americans have lost faith in their government, Senator Obama can move us beyond the politics of stalemate and gridlock that has kept us from meeting the monumental challenges of our time: our dependence on foreign oil, a health care gap that leaves tens of millions uninsured, the steady deterioration of our manufacturing base, and an economy that is not working for working people.

The Democratic Party's strength comes from its core commitment to the American Dream and from a coalition that is ideologically, economically, geographically and ethnically diverse. Barack Obama will stand with working families while building that coalition so that we can change this country, and that's why he's the best choice for America."

Barack Obama said, "I am honored to have the support of Congressman Joe Donnelly. Joe has brought an independent, principled, and pragmatic voice to Washington that is more focused on getting results for Hoosier families than scoring political points. As President, I look forward to working with Congressman Donnelly to build bipartisan majorities to create jobs, make health care more affordable and accessible, and to give our veterans the care and support that they have earned."
Donnelly is the 282nd superdelegate to endorse Barack Obama, who is 149 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination.

Comments

[GeorgeP922]

I am so proud to be a Marylander.

Sure our govenor bowed his head while his state voted Obama with a 20% lead!

Unfortunatly as with everything Maryland, our place in this primary has been grossly underated.

From CNN calling us the "Potomac" primary instead of "Chesapeak" was a nice wink and a nod to their prefered DC and DC counties.

With Obama, I think we have a bright future for Democrats.

WE just need to get rid of Mikulski ASAP, and either fix O'Malley or show him the door at the next primary.

[Sneakerface]

Why get rid of Mikulski ? What is your disagreement with her ? I am a former MD resident, so I am familiar with her (and even touting her as possible Obama running mate, though I know she is in the Clinton camp), but I haven't really followed her doings in the past few years, so I am curious to know why you say this, GeorgeP922

[Softnsweet]

You really need to get rid of Mikulski ASAP. How old is she now? I am fifty five, she use to be my social worker when I lived in Maryland years ago. She was not in politics at the time. I cannot please that she came out for Clinton since Maryland came out overwelmingly for Obama.

[Vantunow]

Obama needs about 70 more Super Delegates before Oregon Primary. That way, he will be able to celebrate 2,025 right then and their.

Otherwise, he needs 55 more Supers, to wrap it up with sweep of South Dakota and Montana.

I think its time for Supers to put him in a position where on either May 20th, or June 3rd, he could celebrate the nomination and the party doesn't leave the impression that once the process was over, it was decided in the back rooms.

Also, its important to close this by Oregon Primary, so the "nuclear option" that Hillary is proposing, becomes sort of a mute point.

Supers need to get this done.

[BLinCincinnati]

It likely will happen. The Obama team has been rolling out the Supers in a controlled fashion to keep it in the news cycle. A very good strategy. Many of the supers have mentioned they had decided a week or more ago when they finally announced. The Obama team is "scheduling" when they announce after they've committed in private. I expect you'll see a steady 4-5 supers per day till June 3rd. Obama most likely wants to hit 2025 on June 3rd so that Clinton can't really say she's going to continue on. There won't be any contests left to "hear from the voters".

[JackND]

I wonder if the scheduling might not be more calibrated to May 20 than June 3.

[Tomlastliberalleft]

The second Obama gets to 2025 Hillary will move the goal post again and continue saying we have to count Michigan and Florida, hence 2209 delegates. Then she go back to popular vote, then she'll say the superdelegates should not count, then she'll say they should count only if it help her, then she'll say only those delegates that are hard working white Americans, then she'll say only those delegates that owe her money.....­.... then she'll contest the rules commitee report, then she'll contest the credentials committee make-up, then she'll contest the credentials report on the convention floor, then she contest having the convention more than 200 miles away from New York City. Then she'll....­.I hope every one remembers all this in 2012 when she gears up for another campaign and the both of them start pounding sand to gather money for another death march.

[luznegra]

lol You are too funny.
The scary part is that she may do it....

[McPander]

Yes she can go out and get her "Hard Working Americans, White Americans" to vote for her.

[Softnsweet]

Tomlastliberalleft ,

If hardworking white americans continue to vote for the Clintons in spite of everything has they have done, then they will vote for her 2012. The memory span if very very short.

[barbarianatthegate]

It's a "moot" point!

[naschkatze]

I hope the superdelegates keep coming to Obama today of all days to off-set Clinton's "big win" in WV.

[McPander]

No they will be held back. They will wait to see how she handles her acceptance speech tonight. If she goes on attack, tomorrow will be another small stream. This will continue until the end. They can control the headlines with the Super Delegate releases.

[SarahZim]

I didn't like when clinton talked about pledged delegates switching candidates at convention, and I don't like that this one is doing that either....­.kind of undermines the meaning of the word 'pledged' and the entire primary process. No I am not a Hillary supporter.

[JackND]

I really don't either, but HIllary opened the door to it when she invited them to do so..on her behalf.

[PrObama29]

True. If she'd kept her mouth shut, her own tactics wouln't now be used against her by the Superdelegates

[BLinCincinnati]

I don't like the system either, but Clinton did open the door... twice.

Hopefully they change the Dem primary system after this year. A lot of the supers have mentioned they wanted to get rid of it. Full primaries and popular vote as a way to determine the winnner would be the "best" but it would also allow for a long fight. But it would really push the Dem party forward, because the emphasis would be on registrations and turn out, which would help them in Nov as well as down ballot.

If they really want some way to stop a possible "train wreak", have supers but don't have them actually "vote" like they do now. Instead, have them ratify the results. Have it require something like 75% vote to overturn. If they can get that many to agree, then the person would have to be seriously flawed. It gives them the ability to handle a situation where someone with a huge popular vote had a massive implosion at the end, but it removes the appearance of a back room deal to decide the nomination.

[sd4peace]

I'm an Obama supporter and I agree with you.

[aricogfj]

I agree....w­e don't need this ....we have the mo!!

[utd]

I support Obama as well, and agree with them about us needing party unity but this is not the way to do it. These people were given an elected job to do, and trading off the voice of their neighbors because they think it's a good idea is just not right. This will end up a being a black eye ultimately on both campaigns and a slap in the face to democracy.

[BassMent]

Just in case you don't know how "pledged" delegates get there, they get on the ballot because they are hard-core workers for the candidate they support. When I voted for Obama here in RI, I got to choose which of the delegates should go represent him in Denver. I had a list in my hand published by the RI Obama campaign of who they thought was most committed to him, so those are the ones I voted for. In other states I'm sure very similar approaches are taken.

So, while the pledged delegates are TECHNICALLY able to vote for whomever they want, they are as a group DEEPLY comitted to their candidate on a personal level. They're not at the convention voting for one or the other because someone told them to... they're there because they earned the right to go vote for their candidate by expending their own time, money and sweat on the campaign. These folks are VERY unlikely to switch votes under any circumstances.

[Freedomscap]

I'm so sick of people saying black folks are racist -- they don't even know the meaning of the word. Yes, black folks are prejudice, just like everyone else. But, not racists.

Read the article below: you don't see black folks coming out and vandalizing Hillary's campaign office because she is white.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051203014.html?hpid=topnews

[marc1antony]

that's right! prejudice is what blacks and others might have - Racists implies the superiority over another race... and as far as I know, some whites in this country have had that problem.

[mntnguy]

Many still do have that problem

[Beaucat]

All humans have that problem, my friend. No one race is exempt from the long list of character flaws that have been dragging us down into the mud for thousands of years. There are black racists out there, just as there are white racists. Luckily, the racists in any group are in the minority.

[eurydice]

Hey, West Virginia and Kentucky prove one thing -

Nothing says racist like them Mountaineers!

(Have you ever seen an African American in a bluegrass band? Come on, be honest.)

[FZliveson]

Interesting, eurydice;

When you say: "Nothing says racist like them Mountaineers!"
you are exhibiting the same prejudgement and bigotry that you
are affixing to the "mountaine­ers."
Do you see the stupidity in generalizations, especially against
broad sweeps of fellow humans?

You appear to be the classic victim of the Great Polarizer, Gush fLimbaugh or
his chronies.

Put a little love in your heart, dude. "THEY" are never as bad as you think "THEY" are.
Get rid of the "They" and use "You and I" and get real.

[lobo1939]

Yes, I have seen black people play bluegrass and this: "Influenced early in his development by his fiddle playing uncle Pendleton Vandiver ("Uncle Pen") and Arnold Schultz, a black country blues player, Bill Monroe....­" So you might say the grandfather of bluegrass music, was a black mandolin player. http://www.mandolincafe.com/glossary/glossary_54.shtml

[cmeans29]

Charlie Pride. AA country singer 40 yrs ago.

[aflurry]

"(Have you ever seen an African American in a bluegrass band? Come on, be honest.)"

http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com/

The fact that they are young says something too. Now you may have been thinking you were taking a swipe against hillbilly whites with your remark, but actually you were confining blacks who might wish to expand the narrow confines of race-definition by exploring this musical tradition. So, what is your point exactly with that kind of remark?

Let's get off this race baiting and move on to something new. You do everyone a disservice by confining their identity to their race, or rather to your own idea of the definition of their race.

I do think that the perception of racism is Hillary's campaign is a little misplaced. She's employing a demographic slicing and dicing for political gain. It's distasteful in a few ways: politically cynical, alienating, evocative of underlying racial tension as is evidenced be the response on posted comments, but not racist itself.

There is a war going on. This election is not about race or gender. Look up.

And with that:
Obama '08.

[McPander]

Those are "Hard Working Americans, White Americans" you are talking about. - HRC

[neocon666]

I think McHillary meant "hard working Klansmen".

[lorisc]

I have done canvassing in two southern states. While in a largely African American neighborhood in NC (I am white) there were a number of people who thanked me for all I was doing. It was a great experience. The people in the white neighborhoods were cordial enough. Many didn't answer their doors. Some were irritated, others were supportive, but still no significant issues.

It is sad to see people respond to Obama by saying they would never vote for a black man. Racism does continue in this country, but I think that there will be a huge change if Obama is the next president. That racial ceiling will be shattered. Many who are suspicious of Obama because of his race, will realize that he is not different and is a very good president.

[kararay]

Also, the Washington Post reports that one of Clinton's pledged delegates from Maryland has announced that he will support Obama at the convention.

That is so very ironic. I remember Senator Clinton saying that pledged delegates were not really pledged, but promised and were allowed to vote for another candidate. This was said about a month ago and carried eagerly by her surragates for a few days.

[gadfly55]

This will all be over after Oregon, the magic number attained, and any superdelegates superfluous to this achievement will be asked a million questions as to where they were hiding when the anybody who is somebody was lining up to make their public announcement. Nothing concentrates the mind like a deadline and that deadline is May 20. If you haven't declared publicly by then, you will have missed the most important declaration of your life. Now concentrate and act responsibly on behalf of the nation and the world.

[ODAMA]

The Clintons have always done whatever it takes to win and that's what was needed in 92 and 96 against the Republican machine..N­OT today and NOT against one of our own! I've always voted Democrate and always will.I can't wait to vote for Obama in November!

[moda31]

according to howard wolfson all the supers are going to wake up tomorrow morning and be concerned that obama couldn't win WV or any other important state, & start coming back over to hillary...­haha maybe someday soon ,somebody in the clinton camp will wake up back in this universe. seriously what is he smoking? how many supers as hillary picked up in the past week?

[marc1antony]

that's the problem with all of Hillary's surrogates, they are all smoking off of Puff the Magic Dragon's pipe... they are all having a 60's hallucinat­ion... they need to come back to earth and realize it is over.

[JackND]

The superdelegates already know he isn't going to win WV or KY, and they know full well that he will likely lose by some 70-30 margin.

What they know is that KY + WV are not the beginning and end of the US.

[neocon666]

Meanwhile, he keeps sender her his bill.

[neocon666]

Correction: sending

[vallon]

John McCain's 'electabil­ity'....
http://tinyurl.com/2jrar6

[Max7073]

Where's his flag pin?

[Scarllatti]

Vallon, please send this eye-opening clip to the media outlets, especially, MSNBC, CNN, ABC and CBS. Maybe, someone should pick on this. You should please save it for the general election. It is very very revealing. Bravo. Good job!!!

[Bjorkian]

LOL. Funny how the Hillary and McCain supporters pretend to be Obama supporters in order to say that a Clinton delegate shoulldn't switch. and get this, they suggest barack should make some sort of statement to give it back. Thats rich.They are sooo transparent and desperate.­It's going to be a SUPER DAY today. I'm even encouraged about WV.

[poco767]

over 6 days Obama has gained 30 superdelegates, that is more delegates than Hillary will get if she gains 100% of the west Virginia vote.
Or to look at another way.
In one night Hillary can virtually wipe out a weeks worth of gains by Obama.

It is very interesting how peoples views on Superdelgates has shifted as the favor has swung to each candidate. No one likes the idea of superdelegates till they are on their side.

[Grunty1]

They are still a bad idea, since the old thing they can really do is to override the party's vote. However, they cannot be changed midrace. Now that Hillary has absolutely no chance to overtake in pledged delegates, they SHOULD end the race officially.

[McPander]

I disagree. They need to finish this out. Her stopping would include a compromise, that is not acceptable. There is a reason that the Obama camp has not pressured the Supers, why push the inevitable.
The longer she runs the more disparate she looks. The SNL skit says it all.

[Harvard4U2]

Clintons are the ones that promoted the idea of supers when they were up. Bill Clinton told AP in Feb.that supers should make up their own minds regardless of who wins the Pledge delegates.

Now that Obama is taking the lead in Super delegate count, the Clintonites are having an issue with the supers. Give it up already!

[naschkatze]

Can you imagine what Hillary's grade school and high school teachers had to put up with?

[jlgcox]

McPander,

I saw and read several articles regardin HRC "hard working white americans" statement and I was not please at all! Do I think HRC is a racist? NO! Do I think HRC said those statements to get people who would not vote for a black candidate to the polls to vote for her? YES!! The problem with making those statements is once that genie is out of the bottle it can not be put back in.

I am hopeful that ALL democrats will realize a DEM in the White House is good for everyone! WHITE;BLAC­K;RED;BROW­N;YELLOW.

[McPander]

I don't think HRC is a raciest, she just plays one on TV.

[ColoradoDan]

I also doubt Hillary is a racist ... she just panders to the bigots and the 'racially sensative' for votes. She takes great pride in being the champion of poor uneducated white folks. Her greatest base now are Dittoheads and other NeoCon followers. Without them, she would have been gone a month ago.

Ironic ... dontcha think?

Hillary surrounds herself with some of the nastiest in politics including Bill and his Fickle Finger. Once she is finally sent packing back to New York or Arkansas, Obama can continue on with his handling of the worst of the GOP, John McCain.

Obama has shown this nation that being honest and forthright and having decent folks at the top can still win in America. Been awhile since we have all seen that eh? :)

[LulaB]

I don’t think HRC is a racist, not that I know of.

[Harvard4U2]

According to Hillary and the gang ( including the former President) the black are good people as long as they vote and not try to lead.

I don't know if Hillary is always a racist or not but she sure was racist that day when she made those comments.

As a " white" American I was offended by her statement. The race relations in this country can't go forward if we keep on using race to forward our own agendas.

[Softnsweet]

Anytime someone makes the statements about white americans, telling Richardson that Obama could not win, in addition to circulating a picture of Obama in muslim garb, then she is racist to me. Clinton has had no reason before to show her true colors.

You may as say Bush is not racist. He administration was way more colorful then the Clintons, in addition to people that the associates with. Case in point, look at Jenna wedding! Look at who married her and the band was black. Jenna supports Obama!

[sd4peace]

If you could make a statement like that to appeal to racists then you aren't much bettr than them.

[lobo1939]

I love it; but, while we celebrate this glacial slide towards the "in fact" Democratic nominee, McInsance is running loose and unchallenged. The SDs need to ALL announce their support of Obama. So what if it pisses Hillary's "hard working white" supporters off. Remember this election is about Roe v Wade. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner the DNC and the Obama campaign can start to catch up with McInsane. Mc has had three free months to poach on the centrist voters.

[JamesInDenver]

You're absolutely right, this election is about Supreme Court justices. McCain may appear to be a likable guy, but don't be fooled. He has taken an extreme turn to the right. He is not the one we want selecting judges.

Hillary supporters please do the right thing, vote for Obama. THE SUPREME COURT NEEDS YOU!!!

[McPander]

I don't think what you saw what happened last week. HRC said, "Hard working Americans, white Americans". This isn't the Republican Party. She has cooked her own goose. She will be very lucky if she is elected dog catcher. Many people could have quibbled over the other race bating in the campaign, but this was so blatant and distasteful. It was of course timed right after the last state with any significant African-American population.
Her polls in California have dropped like a rock.
There is an old saying, stay clear of the third rail of politics. They reason why is because it is very dangerous.

[WasteNJ]

She may just have a big surprise in New York next election for Senate. There's no way to win here without the minority votes, and people will remember this racial lean. Let's see if the Appalachian redneck vote wins her New York again.

[Sneakerface]

Could somebody please explain to me WHAT is so wrong about saying referring to hard working white Americans ?? I have a master's degree in social work and have been an activist against racism for years, and am an ardent Obama supporter, but I guess I'm just too dense to get this. It seems like the whole country has decided that when someone compliments one person or group, they are criticizing another. That does not make a bit of sense. IMO, this is comparable to people claiming Michelle Obama hates America because she made a comment that the was "really proud of America" for the first time because of her husband's candidacy. She was making a comment that this makes her PROUD of her country. But all of a sudden the "really" is left out of the quote, and "for the first time in my adult life" is taken literally, and the next thing you know she HATES AMERICA . WTF is wrong with people ?? Does your spouse or significant other tell you "you look great today," and you respond to them with "OH ! So you thought I looked awful yesterday ??"