John Edwards

The United Steelworkers of America, who had previously endorsed John Edwards, now switches to Obama.

From South Carolina comes word that 6 of the delegates John Edwards earned in the state will be going to Obama.

And more previously neutral superdelegates heed the call:

California's Henry Waxman and Howard Berman endorse Obama.
Washington's Jim McDermott endorses Obama.
D.C. superhero super Larry Cohen endorses Obama.

No big news for Clinton today. A pick-up of 10 delegates so far for the Illinois Senator. First Read's superdelegate scorecard since last Tuesday is Obama 35.5, Clinton 1.5.

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.

Although I reported last week, with much disappointment, that John Edwards does not intend to endorse a candidate before the Democratic National Convention, he seems to be finding other ways to get his point across. First, there was this possible "slip", and then, this weekend, he had some words of caution for Hillary Clinton. Via CNN's Political Ticker:

Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Edwards said Clinton has to be "has to be really careful that she's not damaging our prospects," with continuing to take jabs at Obama.

"She doesn't need my advice, she knows this full well," Edwards said. "If she makes the case for herself, which she's completely entitled to do, she has to be really careful that she's not damaging our prospects, the Democratic Party, and our cause, for the fall."

Now, I do still believe that Edwards would do everyone a favor by weighing in, but this may just do the trick. It sounded pretty friendly for a shot across the bow, but it was also unmistakable. The warnings aren't going to get any nicer.

I renew my recommendation that Hillary drop out now and accept the VP nod, while it can still look like it was her idea. The longer she holds on now, the harder the push will be.

Former presidential candidate John Edwards made an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning. Since Edwards has left the race, the hot topic for any interview with him has been who he is going to endorse - if he endorses at all. Today was no exception. Host Mika Brzezinski questioned Edwards rather aggressively (sans Joe this morning) on the matter. While watching this live this and on the first pass, I thought he was still being annoying coy about the whole thing - praising the candidates equally - but noting that Sen. Cinton needs to be careful not to further split the party. My esteemed colleague Tommy Christopher comments on her recent divisive remarks here.

Edwards appearance on NBC's Today show this morning, however, showed the NC Senator singling out Obama for some praise. As Reuters reports:

"What he brings to the table is the capacity, number one, to unite the Democratic Party," Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, told NBC's "Today" show.

"Number two, to bring in new voters, to bring in people who haven't been involved in the process over a long time and to get people excited about this change."

Was this the announcement to which Ambinder referred earlier in the day? From Barack Obama's Web site:

Former Edwards National General Chairman and 49 Other Edwards Supporters Throw Support to Barack Obama.

The heavies on the list are:

Ed Turlington, John Edwards' former National Gen. Chairman
David Price, U.S. Congressman
Mel Watt, U.S. Congressman
G.K. Butterfield, U.S. Congressman

Checking on the superdelegate status...

Update:

G.K. Butterfield, David Price, and Mel Watt are all North Carolina superdelegates. All three had endorsed Obama back on April 16th, however, which kind of dims the importance of this announcement.

So far as I can tell, today's final score terms of superdelegate endorsements was Obama 2, Clinton 1:

Tennessee Representative John Tanner for Clinton.
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry for Obama.
Nebraska super Audra Ostegard for Obama.

And in a further update, MSNBC finds that after all was said and done in PA., Clinton only netted a total of 9 pledged delegates. Final Keystone State delegate score: Clinton 82, Obama 73.

As I reported here Tuesday, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is entering the lion's den tonight, going mano a mano with arch-conservative fundit Stephen Colbert for all the marbles.

As is our custom here at the Political Machine, we will cover the whole thing, gavel-to-gavel, LIVE!

To get things warmed up, here's Stephen singing the National Anthem with John Legend. See you after the jump, at 11:30 sharp.

Time's Mark Halperin has reported on some alleged reservations that John Edwards has about Barack Obama. In so doing, he used pretty frank language (for which he later apologized). The interview with Halperin occurred on Sirius Radio's Bill Geddie show. Here's how it started

MARK HALPERIN: He [John Edwards] comes with some delegates who he won before he dropped out and also everyday matters and his endorsement would be a big story for at least a day. And, I'll tell you one other reason I think it matters: Obama, the big rap on him is he is experienced enough, the big rap on her [Clinton], would she change enough. Edwards watched the two of them more closely than anybody in the country really. When he picks one of them, assuming he does, and I think at this point he will, he'll send that message whether it's explicit or not. If he picks Obama, the message is: Clinton doesn't represent change. If he picks.Clinton, the message is Obama is not ready.

Then it turned colorful.

The stakes are high. Which candidate, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, will win the coveted endorsement of John Edwards? A flurry of courtship activity has been spotted of late. Last Thursday, just before Clinton was handed a stinging string of defeats, Hillary secretly flew from Washington State to Edwards' home in North Carolina. No, they weren't talking about "Project Runway."

Obama remained on the campaign trail, but has now scheduled his own meeting with the man-who-would-be-kingmaker. The former North Carolina Senator's nod would be most helpful to a candidate trying to win in Virginia, N.C.'s norther neighbor. The question is, who does Edwards currently favor?

It's hard to say whose philosophy Edwards is drawn to more. On healthcare, his plan was more similar to Hillary's. On the question of lobbyist money in government, he's more in-line with Obama. Certainly, it would be difficult for Edwards not to have noticed that the momentum of the campaign is all in Obama's direction, but would that influence his decision?

Lay your bets. You're not going to find such favorable odds in Vegas, that's for sure.

Tonight's Democratic Presidential Debate, coming as it does on the heels of John Edwards' announcement that he is ending his campaign for the Presidency, could be a golden opportunity for the two remaining candidates, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, to woo Edwards' supporters. With the former Senator declining, for the moment, to endorse one or the other candidate, it's open season on the Edwards faithful.

Former Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards is dropping out of the race for his party's nomination. He is expected to make the announcement today at 1p.m. in New Orleans, where he had been scheduled to give a major policy address on poverty. Check back for updates on the announcement later today.

Politico, citing "Democratic sources", says that Edwards will not immediately endorse one or the other of the two remaining candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Edwards' endorsement, assuming his supporters follow it, could tip the balance for whichever candidate receives it.

The Edwards campaign is illustrative of much of what is right with our political system, and what's wrong with it. After the jump, we'll get into that and try to figure out which candidate he will endorse, and when.