Of Course, Edwards Voted for Obama

posted by John Nichols on 05/10/2008 @ 4:10pm

Appearing Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," former U.S. Senator John Edwards was pressed by co-host Mika Brzezinski to discuss who he had voted for in last Tuesday's North Carolina primary.

"You're saying that this candidate you voted for will be the candidate that you potentially endorse, that it looks highly likely, if I can use your words?" asked Brzezinski.

"I'd say that's very likely," replied Edwards.

"Okay, well, I'm close," said Brzezinski.

"I just voted –- I just voted for him on Tuesday, so..." said Edwards, in an apparent slip.

"So it was a him or a her that you voted for?" interjected another MSNBC host, David Schuster, seeking to clarify that Edwards had just acknowledged that he had voted for Obama.

"No, no," said Edwards, laughing off the question.

An Edwards spokesman tried to suggest that the former presidential candidate, whose endorsement is still being sought by both Obama and Clinton, didn't say "him" but instead said "'em" -- suggesting that this is southern drawl for "them" and maintaining the facade of impartiality.

Don't take the drawl seriously.

Listen to the tape.

Edwards clearly said "him."

He voted for Obama.

While he is not saying so formally quite yet -- though he does say he's "highly likely" to endorse the candidate he voted for -- the 2004 vice presidential nominee will, in reasonably short order, formalize that support with an endorsement of the senator from Illinois.

Naive observers are suggesting that the Edwards endorsement no longer matters because Obama has things wrapped up -- the Illinoisan is collecting super-delegate endorsements at a steady clip and closing in on the numbers he'll need to end the race by early June if not sooner.

But don't fall for the "too-late" argument.

In fact, Edwards has played the endorsement game smart. Both Obama and Clinton have continued talking with the former candidate, continued involving him in their calculations and continued treating him as a necessary -- perhaps even defining -- player in the process.

Obama's camp sees the Edwards endorsement as a critical step in the reintroduction of their candidate in the post-primary period before the Democratic National Convention in August. When Edwards does finally step up, it will be a high-profile event, aimed at garnering maximum media attention.

With his appeal to the working-class Democrats and white rural voters Republican John McCain will be targeting this fall, the North Carolinian will not cease to be an essential player after the primary fight is done. Indeed, he will be more essential.

Of course, his backing will not come as a surprise when it is finally announced.

The word "endorsement" won't be used. The buzz is that Obama and Edwards will talk about a partnership -- with a focus on economic issues in general and poverty in particular.

Watch for Edwards to deliver a prime-time speech at the convention -- after which he will emerge as an integral player on Barack Obama's campaign team and in the broader Democratic strategies for the fall.

Edwards may have dropped out of the presidential race in the dead of winter. But he will be in the fight by high summer. And come next January, if there is an Obama administration, John Edwards will be in the thick of it.