Saturday, March 29, 2008 BY Brett Lieberman PITTSBURGH - The easiest thing Bob Casey Jr. could have done was nothing.
The freshman senator from Pennsylvania is known for exercising caution and avoiding the spotlight. For months, he had said he would not endorse Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Casey had said he wanted to be a unifier who could help bring the party together after a nominee is selected.
"I'm like a lot of voters," Casey said Friday. "For a long, long time, I was not only neutral but an undecided voter."
That began to change last weekend. During a few days off with his family over Easter, Casey pondered playing a different role in the presidential race -- that of a crucial voice and superdelegate who might be able to influence the outcome.
"I made a decision in my own heart and as a voter," he said. "It's a lot easier to say [to yourself that] you're going to vote for that candidate on April 22 and stay on the sidelines."
Inspired by what he said is Obama's message and character, Casey made his choice.
"I've been impressed by so much watching this campaign," he said. "I've been impressed by his compassion, his strength, his ideas, and I think especially, especially under fire, he has appealed as ... Abraham Lincoln asked us to do many years ago to the better angels of our nature."
But Casey went against most of the state political establishment, including Gov. Ed Rendell. Casey angered some longtime friends.
Analysts said an endorsement doesn't automatically translate into votes. But Casey is a popular Roman Catholic figure, and the state has an estimated 3.8 million Catholics. He opposes abortion and many gun-control measures.
"That's an important get for the Obama campaign," said T.J. Rooney, the chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and a Clinton supporter.
"Bob Casey's a man of good conscience and integrity, and he's chosen a side, and that's to be respected," Rooney said.
But he added, "It hasn't shaken any of us or changed our game."
The news and the timing, though, were surprises.
"My expectation was that Casey would sit this one out," said Chris Borick, a political analyst at Muhlenberg College.
With a lead among pledged delegates, states won and the popular vote, Obama is still considered the front-runner of the national race, even as polls show he trails Clinton in Pennsylvania.
Casey's usually more ideologically in sync with Clinton.
Obama was rated the Senate's most liberal member last year by National Journal. Clinton ranked 16th, and Casey was 32nd, according to the magazine's analysis of votes.
The 1992 Democratic National Convention might have played a role in Casey's decision. Casey's father, the late Gov. Robert P. Casey, a vocal opponent of abortion rights, was denied the opportunity to address that convention.
"Casey's dad wasn't treated very well at the same convention that Bill Clinton was being nominated," Borick said.
"You can't help cross your mind that there are some hard feelings," he said.
Asked whether that convention was a factor, Casey has said it was water under the bridge.
In making the decision, Casey said he spoke directly only to his wife, Terese. He only recently informed his four daughters, all Obama fans, and his siblings.
"When I made the decision to contact [Obama] to endorse him, this wasn't a process where we were talking back and forth and I was being lobbied," Casey said.
Obama and his supporters spoke with Casey. But Obama said, "I did not press him on this endorsement."
"I told him I'd love to have his support, but I understand we're behind in Pennsylvania," Obama said, adding, "It would have been easy for Bob just to stay out."
He called the endorsement one of the most important he has received.
"I knew it was coming from the heart," Obama said. "It wasn't based on any political calculation."
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