Former Indiana Rep. Hamilton Endorses Obama

hat tip: DailyKos

From the WashingtonPost.Com

Former Indiana Rep. Hamilton Endorses Obama
Updated 11:26 a.m.
By Alec MacGillis and Jonathan Weisman

No, Lee Hamilton is not a superdelegate. Nonetheless, there are several reasons for Barack Obama to welcome the support of the longtime Indiana congressman and co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, who announced his endorsement of Obama this morning.

Hamilton's support helps Obama in Indiana, where the May 6 primary looms as perhaps the most evenly matched of the remaining contests, and thus a possible media bellwether. Until now, Hillary Clinton has held an edge in establishment support in the state, thanks mostly to her backing from Evan Bayh, the senator, former governor and son of a former senator.

As importantly, the nod from the respected co-chairman of the 9/11 commission bolsters Obama's claim as a credible candidate for commander in chief, a point on which the rookie senator has been hammered by both Clinton and McCain. (In fact, Hamilton is not the first 9/11 commission member from Indiana to endorse Obama -- former congressman Tim Roemer came out for him last month.) There is the added twist of the 9/11 commission co-chairman passing over the senator from the state that suffered the worst of the attacks, though the symbolism is not as stark as it was when Tom Kean, the former New Jersey governor and Republican co-chairman of the panel, endorsed McCain instead of Rudy Giuliani, the presidential candidate most closely identified with the attacks.

Hamilton told the Associated Press that he was supporting Obama because he practices "the politics of consensus and not of partisan division."

"I think he is driven by the search for the common good," Hamilton said. "I begin by asking myself what kind of leadership the country needs at this juncture and I think, for me at least, the answer is that you want a candidate that will try to bring together a country that is very evenly divided, a country in which partisanship has been very sharp and to try to get a candidate who will create a new sense of national unity and will try to transcend the divisions within the country."

Rest of article at link above.



This is good news because a poll out yesterday had Obama down by 9 in Indiana. Every little bit helps.