http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/30/obama-endorsed-by-minn-sen-amy-klobuchar/
WA****NGTON — Barack Obama has gained another superdelegate. Minnesota Sen.
Amy Klobuchar endorsed her Illinois colleague Sunday night, saying in a
statement that Obama “has inspired an enthusiasm and idealism that we have
not seen in this country in a long time.”
It is the latest development among many that have been putting Hillary
Clinton’s presidential campaign on its heels. On Monday, Obama was poised
to
receive the endorsement of the seven Democrats on North Carolina’s
congressional delegation, The Wall Street Journal re****ted.
Obama also got sup****t last week from Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a key
endorsement three weeks before the Keystone State holds its primary.
The Klobuchar, Casey and expected North Carolina lawmaker endorsements are
crucial, because all of them will be superdelegates at the August party
convention.
The Journal re****ted that while Clinton still leads Obama in the
superdelegate tally, Clinton has won only nine superdelegate pledges to
Obama’s 64 since Super Tuesday. Because neither candidate is likely to
gain
the 2,025 delegates necessary to clinch the nomination before the
convention, the candidates have turned toward racking up as many of the
approximately 800 superdelegates who aren’t bound by state nominating
contests.Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean on Friday
called
for the remaining undecided superdelegates to make up their minds by July
1
in an effort to avert a convention crisis. His comments came the same day
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy said Clinton’s campaign was a lost cause and
she
should drop out of the race.
The latest Gallup Daily tracking poll (March 27-29; 1,228 Democratic,
Democratic-leaning voters; +/-3 percent margin of error) shows Clinton
ceding more ground nationally to Obama, who now leads 52 percent to 42
percent.
The poll was conducted as both Clinton and Obama fought off public
criticism
— Clinton for falsely insisting she had landed under sniper fire in a 1996
trip to war-torn Bosnia, and Obama for being a longtime member of the
Chicago church headed by the bombastic Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Klobuchar, in her first term in the Senate, said Obama speaks “with a
different voice, bringing a new perspective and inspiring a real
excitement
from the American people.” She compared him to the late Hubert Humphrey,
who
served as a senator from Minnesota and as vice president under Lyndon
Johnson.
Obama carried Minnesota by a large margin over Clinton last month.
“My endorsement reflects both Barack’s strong sup****t in my state and my
own
independent judgment about his abilities,” Klobuchar said.
She cited their work together on issues such as ethics reform and toy
safety.
“Barack has been a proven agent for change and advocate for middle-class
Americans,” Klobuchar said.
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