John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama

Political Machine contributor and Time Magazine blogger Mark Halperin had an inkling. Earlier today, the Obama campaign touting a "big national endorsement" in Michigan. Halperin asked six senior Obama aides point blank if was John Edwards. All of them offered silence in return. John Edwards "has boarded a plane" Halperin later said.

The other big endorsement to catch the Clinton campaign off-guard today came from NARAL Pro-Choice Amercia. Howard Wolfson said he was "surprised" by it. Here's NARAL's statement via AOL News:

"Today, we are proud to put our organization's grassroots and political support behind the pro-choice candidate whom we believe will secure the Democratic nomination and advance to the general election. That candidate is Senator Obama."

UPDATE: It's official. AP confirms it. Edwards goes for Obama. Huge. Grand Rapids, Michigan press conference at 6:15. So much for West Virginia momentum.



Notable lines from Edwards' speech:

"The reason I'm here tonight is because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I. There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the chance, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground up. There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two... and that man is Barack Obama."

On Hillary Clinton:

"She is a woman who, in my judgment, is a made of steel, and she's a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done."