Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Four More Superdelegates Endorse Obama

obama now has 283 and hillary 270.
Today, New Orleans Mayor and Superdelegate Ray Nagin endorsed Barack Obama for President, citing Obama’s advocacy for the people of Louisiana and working men and women across the country:

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Obama worked to help address the needs of our Gulf Coast communities. As the Gulf Coast continues to rebuild, other cities have faced tragic disasters across this country. Therefore, it is critical that this country's infrastructure and emergency response systems are evaluated and rebuilt to sustain our cities and protect our families. What happened in Louisiana should never happen again.

I have learned firsthand that a unified constituency can make what seems impossible, possible. Senator Obama represents a new generation of leadership, one that can help heal the divisions of the past and unify this country so that together we can build a stronger future.

Since the immediate days following the storm, I have been travelling to our nation’s capitol to advocate for policies that aid our rebuilding effort. I know firsthand, we desperately need the leadership of someone committed to changing the system in Washington that can hold us back from moving forward. For these reasons, I endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nominee.

Superdelegate Anita Bonds, chair of the DC Democratic Party, announced last night that she will endorse Sen. Barack Obama at the Denver convention. Her announcement continued the superdelegate march toward Obama after last week's primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Bonds's announcement was impromptu and prompted, she said, by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) who put her on the spot at a meeting of Democratic delegates in the John A. Wilson Building last night and asked if she was supporting Obama.

"I said, 'Okay,'" Bonds told the D.C. Wire in her first interview about the subject.

Bonds, who has attended events for both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Obama during the campaign, said, "You try to exercise your best judgment....We want to go to the convention as unified as we can."

"I am with the mayor. I'm with the chairman," she said, referring to Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D). Both Gray and Fenty are Obama supporters.


ABC News' Teddy Davis, Sunlen Miller, and Mike Elmore Report: Roy Romer, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Colorado, said Tuesday that he is supporting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for president. In announcing his decision, Romer urged other superdelegates to do the same, saying that "it's important" for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., "to know where we are so she is not misled."

"My reasons are that the party needs to get on right now with a lot of business, including figuring out what to do with Michigan and Florida," Romer told ABC News. "It's important to make known right now not only my vote but as many superdelegates as possible."

Romer said his support for Obama is based on the delegate math as well as Obama's strength in the interior Mountain West: the Illinois Democrat carried Colorado over Clinton by a two-to-one margin: Obama 67%, Clinton 32%.


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.”