Does anyone here honestly believe an Edwards endorsment would change much?

[adoraz]

Since the Wright story didn't do any real damage for more than a day, it seems Clinton supporters are now going after Edwards as the next big thing for them.

Now, according to some rumors, Edwards will endorse Clinton sometime before NC.

An Edwards endorsement back in January would have been huge for obvious reasons. The problem though is we are in the middle of March, and he may not endorse (if he does) until the middle of May. How many Edwards supporters would have been just waiting around for months before making a decision?

Obviously people are thinking this may affect NC.

I'm from NC. The newspapers here make a big deal about Edwards (as you all probably could imagine). An endorsement would get some big press for him here in NC no doubt, but I can't imagine too many people switching their support over to Clinton this late in the game. I still think Obama will win NC by a decent margin. The people I know here who supported Edwards have already made up their minds, and I doubt an endorsement at this point would change their minds.

What impact do you guys think an Edwards endorsement would have?

I think maybe a 2 point advantage max in the remaining states for Clinton (so instead of winning Indiana by 10, Obama would win by 9, or winning NC by 8 instead of 10).

[MethuenProgressive]

1. Edward who?

Not gonna change nothin'.

[goclark]

27. He must have a good reason for waiting ~ but I don't see what

it is...

He would have been dynamite coming out for someone before this time.
Now ~ Edwards? Who?

[MethuenProgressive]

28. If Johnny had endorsed right away, while he still had supporters waiting to vote for him...

..he would've had significant influence. Now, he's back being yeaterday's news again.

[Umbram]

39. I agree with you.

First and maybe last time.

[hisownpetard]

2. No, not at this point.

I was for Kucinich and then Edwards.
I can't see how he could possibly endorse Hillary, to be honest - the anti-corporatist candidate endorsing HRC?

But, however he does or doesn't endorse, I don't think it will have any effect now.
People have already decided who to give their allegiance to, since he didn't step in and direct anyone in either direction.

[Tribetime]

29. exactly... I'll believe it when I see it

[IndependentDem]

33. i agree...

i completely agree and cant see how he could endorse Clinton, they disagree on some of John's most basic beliefs. i would be disappointed if he endorsed Clinton without her publicly changing her stance on special interest in the white house.

[hisownpetard]

34. So would I. And, personally, I am disappointed with the way he curtailed his campaign, after vowing

to go all the way to the convention, without so much as a word (that I know of) to all his supporters
who went all out for him. It was a big let-down to me.

[IndependentDem]

38. i felt betrayed also, -- he should have huckabee'd it at least...

and now if he jumps on board with clinton (without her changing some of her message) i would probably have to "suspend" my support of him in general.

[peoli]

3. Well.... I would hope not

[Window]

4. No, not at all.

[annie1]

5. it might if he endorsed hil b/c that would be unexpected, but not for Bam...

i agree it might give her 2 points max. but no way will he endorse her. I think it's very difficult position for him to endorse against the person who would be the first black president. although i do not like obama i think it's important to have a black president and would like to see it happen very soon.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Doubtful.

Most people probably have made up their minds, and it's unlikely that any endorsement (with the possible exception of Al Gore's) would do much to change them. If he had endorsed before Feb. 5th it might have made more difference, but not so much now.

[dempartisan23]

7. he waited way too long

if he endorses clinton now he is only helping divide the party further.

[Yael]

8. No effect at all, IMO.

[DearAbby]

9. I believe it's too late to make any difference....n/t

[nsd]

10. I don't think it would bring many votes in and of itself.

But it would help buttress the Clinton campaign's shaky argument that they still have a viable shot at the nomination. After all, why would Edwards jump on board a sinking ship?

IMHO, Obama is definitely going to win the nomination, no matter what Edwards does. However, an Edwards endorsement might help Clinton to prolong this thing the full three months until mid-June.

[TwilightGardener]

11. No. In fact, now it just looks weird.

[Inuca]

23. Indeed it would n/t

[loveangelc]

12. They are still talking about the Wright story. I don't know if we can say for sure it didnt do any

damage. The panel on This Week was really concerned this would harm his candidacy fwiw....

[democrattotheend]

14. I'm with you. I think there's been some damage

and it may not be over yet. A lot of people who were considering him now see him as an angry black man and are scared away. I may be overreacting to blog comments, but this definitely seems to have done some damage, especially for the general.

[adoraz]

17. anyone who watches Obama though

would clearly not see him as that way. there will be many, many times people will see Obama speak before the GE. I wouldn't worry at all about this unless some new major news about it comes out.

[nsd]

19. I agree with this completely.

Between now and early November, voters will have many opportunities to see and hear Obama directly -- that is, not filtered through the news media. His personality is one of his great strengths (open-minded, tolerant, level-headed) and I think that will shine through.

[adoraz]

15. well the polls are showing

that really minimal harm, if any was done. there was the one day harm, but it looks like after Obama spoke out against what he said, things went pretty much back to normal.

Unless major new developments happen, I don't think much will change.

[loveangelc]

22. Well, Fox News and the talk radio people are definitely not done talking abou it.

I'm not sure how long this story can really sustain itself, but it wasn't really talked about yesterday. It was talked about today and may be talked about next week...

[Drachasor]

30. Yeah, but they'll talk about anything they can to damage the Democrats

What would you expect? It's not like they are "fair and balanced."

[loveangelc]

31. yeah, but that can be a problem as it gets out.

[Drachasor]

32. Compared to the other candidates, Obama has nothing bad about him

He's very clean, which is one reason why he is the best person to run against McCain.

They mostly cater to people that would never vote for a Democrat anyhow. I don't think they'll change anything much.

[Major Hogwash]

18. Yeah, but only on the Faux Snooze channel mostly.

They sounded like "concern trolls" on that program, asking themselves open-ended questions all the time.

[democrattotheend]

13. Possibly

First, an Edwards endorsement of Clinton right now would come on top of a very bad news week for Obama, and give her another few good news cycles and maybe even change the perception of the race, showing that it has moved away from the period when everyone and their mother was endorsing Barack Obama.

Second, he has 26 delegates. I don't know if he could just give them to Clinton, but I would imagine his endorsement would carry some weight with his delegates.

[Major Hogwash]

16. No, he waited too long.

He shoulda endorsed somebody last month.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

20. Yep, plus the fact that he really isn't that popular in NC much nowadays either.

That's not say that it wouldn't be nice for Obama to get his nod, it's just I doubt it means much at this point.

[Vinca]

21. No - he should've endorsed someone around Super Tuesday.

It's fairly meaningless now, although I wish he'd endorse Obama over Hillary so Obama might consider him for Attorney General. Edwards would make a kick ass AG.

[PseudoIntellect]

24. With 87% of pledged delegates already decided, no, I don't think it would do much.

Plus, Obama already took 7 of John's delegates, right?

[CatsDogsBabies]

25. Isn't the NC

primary a long way off? Why would anyone wait so long to endorse the losing candidate? I don't understand.

[izzybeans]

26. No, and it may not of mattered back then, Obama was and is still winning.

As someone who teetered on voting for John I wish it would be otherwise, but Obama has been winning without him.

[marions ghost]

35. rumors...

Edwards will play it smart, whatever he does.

His endorsement would help either but maybe he won't endorse one over the other if it's in his own best interest.

Not a big deal IMO.

[adoraz]

36. the thing I don't get about this is...

I was assuming he was taking such a long time to endorse because he wanted to choose the candidate who had the best chance of winning (he didn't want to be risky).

This makes no sense to me that he would endorse someone who has such low odds.

Maybe someone should show him the math. :)

[Barack_America]

37. I think it would change the way many feel about Edwards.

And, given his stance on corporate influence in Washington, he could end up looking rather foolish once the Clintons finally release their tax info.

This is a mistake, IMO.

[Seabiscuit]

40. Was there a statement or a news source that said Edwards would endorse Hillary?

Is this just a conjecture or supposition that John Edwards "might" endorse Hillary, I don't understand where you get the idea that he would. In fact, who knows whether he would endorse any candidate at this point in time.

[metalluk]

41. It would make a difference.

Edwards will not only endorse one of the two candidates but will also campaign for him/her, in PA, NC, IN, KY, and, if there is one, in a MI do-over.

If Clinton wins big in PA and follows that up with a win in NC, however close, that one-two punch will add up to a major turnaround.

The most recent polls in NC have Obama up by +4 and by +7. There are a lot of Southern Baptists in NC and Obama doesn't fare well with that group. With momentum from PA behind her and Edwards at her side, Clinton might take NC. It will be a hard fought battle.

It is common knowledge that Edwards is torn about his endorsement. If he comes out for Clinton after such intensive soul searching, it lends credence to his chief concern about Obama, which is the same as my chief concern: Obama's lack of preparedness for the job. Voters will be influenced by Edwards' judgment in that respect.

At the least, an Edwards endorsement adds one more scenario by which Clinton could get the nomination.

Also, some of Edwards' elected delegates will honor his endorsement.

[Cass]

42. I don't think it will have much impact, but I tend to put very little stock in endorsements anyway.

Actually I am surprised Edwards is even endorsing now. I had kind of figured he would have remained neutral until we had a nominee. But whomever he backs will no doubt be pleased to receive his endorsement.