Edwards Endorsement of Obama Showcases Low Impact of West Virginia Primary
May 14, 2008
Barack Obama may have been trounced soundly in yesterday’s West Virginia Democratic Primary, but today he picked up the endorsement of one of the Party’s most prominent voices.
Whether Senator Edwards is jockeying for the Vice Presidential nod or not is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear that the dominos are beginning to fall solidly in Obama’s favor. Edwards’ endorsement pushes Obama closer to victory both in the battle of public perception and in the battle for delegates.
Edwards picked up a mere 19 delegates before dropping out of the race, but it’s inconceivable that at least a few of them won’t switch their votes to reflect the endorsement of their chosen candidate. In such a tight race, every delegate counts.
It’s clear that both literally and in the larger sense of the term West Virginia is already yesterday’s news.
It’s interesting how thoroughly ignored the win has been by most of the media. Throughout the race so far, a “win,” even by 2 points, was huge headline news (and whoever had the latest “win” was always the one with “the momentum”).
In stark contrast, all I’ve heard for the past week is how it’s just a matter of time before Hillary drops out of the race.
As an Obama supporter, I can’t be too upset about that, but it’s just frustrating to me that political coverage always seems to = “what’s the strategy” or “where’s the momentum,” never “what should you as voters know.”
le sigh.
I hate to say it, but part of the problem is that “statistically” West Virginia is one of the least educated states in the Union. This is the place where removing the tops of mountains is the primary occupation, also know as coal “mining.” The percentage of people with a four year degree is lowest in the nation. The median income is the lowest in the nation. I know we are all egalitarian in principal here, but what does this race really say about the two contenders to the throne?