Kerry endorses BARACK OBAMA over Edwards

Posted January 10th, 2008 by wanbligi

updated 4 hours, 55 minutes ago

Kerry endorses Obama over '04 running mateStory Highlights
NEW: Sen. Barack Obama will bring the country together, Sen. John Kerry says

Kerry was the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004

John Edwards, also running for the '08 Democratic bid, was Kerry's running mate

Obama picked up key endorsements from unions in Nevada this week

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry on Thursday endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, saying the senator from Illinois is a "candidate to bring change to our country."

Sen. John Kerry says he's backing Sen. Barack Obama before a crowd Thursday in Charleston, South Carolina.

"Barack Obama isn't just going to break the mold," said Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate four years ago. "Together, we are going to shatter it into a million pieces."

The senator from Massachusetts made the announcement in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Charleston, South Carolina, 16 days ahead of the state's Democratic primary.

Kerry said he was stirred by the way Obama "eloquently reminded us of the fact that our true genius is faith in simple dreams and insistence on small miracles." Watch Kerry explain why he's picking Obama »

The endorsement could be seen as a blow to former Sen. John Edwards, who was Kerry's running mate in the 2004 election.

Edwards also is vying for the Democratic presidential nomination this year.

The endorsement shouldn't come as a surprise to Edwards, who was publicly critical of Kerry's campaign after the earlier election.

Following news of the endorsement, Edwards released a statement saying he respects Kerry's decision.

"When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues," Edwards said. "I continue to believe that this election is about the future, not the past, and that the country needs a president who will fight aggressively to end the status quo and change the Washington system and to give voice to all of those whose voices are ignored in the corridors of power."

Kerry made an oblique reference to the other candidates in the race "with whom I have worked and who I respect" in his speech Thursday.

"They are terrific public servants, and each of them could be president tomorrow, and each would fight to take this country in the right direction, but I believe that more than anyone else, Barack Obama can help our country turn the page and get America moving by uniting and ending the division that we have faced," he said.

A source suggested senator's support for Obama will be a big boost because Kerry "remains one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party and [has] an e-mail list with millions of addresses."

In an e-mail sent to the JohnKerry.com community Thursday, the former presidential candidate said the next president of the United States "can be, should be, and will be Barack Obama."

A Kerry spokesman said Obama will be sending out a note to Kerry's e-mail list, which was created during the 2004 run and numbers 3 million.

Obama on Wednesday picked up endorsements from two key unions in Nevada, which holds its caucuses January 19.

Atlanta, Georgia, Mayor Shirley Franklin recently announced her endorsement of Obama, and sources said Thursday that Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota also would back the senator from Illinois. E-mail to a friend

Karl Rove

On January 12th, 2008 Wayne in WA State said:

Thanks for sharing the insightful comments of Karl Rove.. Not!

Senator John Kerry

On January 10th, 2008 Wayne in WA State said:

I knew there was a good reason I like John Kerry!

Hi Wayne,

Martin Luther King said, "The time is always right to do what is right." So I'm choosing this time to share an important decision I've made, one I believe is right for this country.

The JohnKerry.com community has been very important to me and very important to the Democratic resurgence over the last couple of years, so I wanted to let all of you know my decision before I confirm it with anyone else. I want to share with you my conviction that in a field of fine Democratic candidates, the next President of the United States can be, should be, and will be Barack Obama. Each of our candidates would make a fine President, and we are blessed with a strong field. But for this moment, at this time in our nation's history, Barack Obama is the right choice.

Please join me in supporting Barack Obama's candidacy.

I'm proud to have helped introduce Barack to our nation when I asked him to speak to our national convention, and there Barack's words and vision burst out. On that day he reminded Americans that our "true genius is faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles." And with his leadership we can build simple dreams, and we can turn millions of small miracles into real change for our country.

At this particular moment, with our country faced with great challenges in our economy, in our environment, and in our foreign policy, and with our politics torn by division, Barack Obama can bring transformation to our country. With Barack, we can build a new majority of Americans from all regions who can turn the page on the politics of Karl Rove and begin a new politics, one worthy of our nation's history and promise. We can bring millions of disaffected people - young and old - to the great task of governing and making a difference, child to child, community to community.

Please click here to give what you can to Barack Obama's campaign for President and help build this future for our country.

The moment is now, and the candidate for this moment is Barack Obama. Like him, I also lived abroad as a young man, and I share with him a healthy respect for the advantage of knowing other cultures and countries, not from a book or a briefing, but by personal experience, by gut, by instinct. He knows the issues from the deep study of a legislator, and he knows them from a life lived outside of Washington. His is the wisdom of real-world experience combined with the intellect of a man who has thought deeply about the challenges we face.

History has given us this moment. But we need to decide what to do with it. I believe, with this moment, we should make Barack Obama President of the United States.

Please join me in supporting his campaign.

Thank you,
John Kerry

Hillary

On January 12th, 2008 arnoldray said:

Rove: Obama Rhetoric Light as Air

Friday, January 11, 2008 10:06 AM

By: Newsmax Staff Article Font Size

President Bush’s former senior adviser Karl Rove says Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary for four reasons — chief among them rival Barack Obama’s inability to “close out the argument” against Hillary.

Writing in the Washington Post, Rove lists as the first reason for Hillary’s success her campaign’s “smart decision at its start to target women Democrats, especially single woman… The focus didn’t pay off in Iowa, but it did in New Hampshire.”

Second, Hillary had two powerful “personal moments,” Rove notes. The first came in Saturday’s ABC debate, when Clinton was questioned about her perceived lack of “likeability.” Hillary said: “Well, that hurts my feelings.”

Rove writes: “You couldn’t help but smile. It reminded Democrats what they occasionally like about her.”

The other personal moment came when Hillary nearly broke down in tears during a meeting with undecided voters in New Hampshire.

Clinton’s “emotional reply was powerful and warm,” Rove observes. “It was humanizing and appealing.”

Third, the Clintons began to raise questions about Obama’s fitness for the presidency, as a first-term senator with limited experience.

Rove writes: “The fourth and biggest reason why Mrs. Clinton won is that, while Mr. Obama can draw on the deep doubts of many Democrats about Mrs. Clinton, he can’t close out the argument. Mr. Obama is an inspiring figure playing a historical role but that’s not enough to push aside the former first lady and senator from New York.”

Obama’s rhetoric, Rove concludes, “while eloquent and moving at times, has been too often light as air.”