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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
John Edwards has joined the growing chorus of voices who think the Democratic nomination battle is all over.
In his endorsement of Barack Obama yesterday, Edwards emphasized that it's time for the party to come together behind Obama. The timing of Edwards' endorsement was absolutely perfect. At a rally of more than 12,000 cheering Obama supporters, it was a masterstroke that literally wiped Clinton's big West Virginia headlines out of the news.
And, there's already some pay-off for Obama. He's now picked up eight of Edwards' 19 delegates. This puts him 180 delegates ahead of Clinton and just 127 short of clinching the nomination.
Edwards' endorsement goes a long way toward quieting the voices that say Obama can't win working-class, blue-collar voters. This is Edwards' constituency. Edwards has particular credibility on "issues of poverty and the plight of working people."
Actually, Obama may not need as much help among these working-class voters as some people think. Today, the United Steelworkers union – all 600,000 of them – endorsed Obama. It's another big loss for Senator Clinton as she had been aggressively seeking their endorsement.
And finally, Obama picked up three more superdelegates today – two of them influential members of Congress. Henry Waxman heads up the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Howard Berman, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Here’s my question to you: How does John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama affect the Democratic primary race?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Barbara from Ft. Myers, Florida writes:
It's huge, Jack. John Edwards represents all those white, working class Americans that Hillary said she owned. Already those delegates are coming out for Senator Obama. Basically the race is over and the only people who don't realize it are Hilary, Bill, Terry McAuliffe and Howard Wolfson. It's gone way beyond the sad point.
Bill from Tennessee writes:
Jack, Edwards’ endorsement of Obama has made you as giddy as a 12-year-old at a Mylie Cyrus concert! I was a John Edwards supporter until he dropped out and I now support Sen. Clinton. His endorsement of Sen. Obama did not change my mind about Obama and it will not change the minds of lots of other voters. Just because Edwards is now supporting Obama doesn't mean working class blue collar voters are suddenly going to jump on the Obama bandwagon.
Bob from Richmond, Virginia writes:
Well, it did accomplish one thing: nobody is talking about the West Virginia primary any more.
Bud from Miami, Oklahoma writes:
Jack, It probably does not change anything except the talking points. Edwards waited too long to endorse, which makes him appear to be making a politically expedient decision. But, his endorsement may give political cover to other supers who have yet to publicly endorse.
Craig from Hiram Rapids, Ohio writes:
Jack, Not one bit. Hillary expects the Mad Hatter and the Seven Dwarves to announce for her shortly. Barack is losing ground with Disney characters and Hillary is the only one who can carry them in the general election. She's in it to win it!