Edwards Throws Support to Obama

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Edwards Endorses Obama

Democrat John Edwards is endorsing former rival Barack Obama, fresh signs of the party establishment embracing the likely nominee even as Hillary Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

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Edwards had been deeply conflicted about choosing between his former rivals. Friends said that he had spoken regularly with Obama, but that the agreement did not come together until a call Obama placed to him on Tuesday night.

Edwards appeared more in tune with Obama and his message of change during the early primaries, and he was more often critical of Clinton, whom he considered too closely aligned with interest group politics and the established ways of Washington.

At the same time, friends said, Edwards thought Clinton was more ready to be president, and he needed time to reconcile his reservations about Obama.

Edwards is the third of Obama's former rivals to endorse him, following Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who said his loyalty to the Clintons was trumped by his belief in Obama.

To achieve maximum media impact, Obama moved up a scheduled rally in Grand Rapids to ensure the Edwards appearance made the evening news. The candidate took the stage to thunderous cheers and told the crowd of 12,500 that he would be joined by "one of the greatest leaders we have in the Democratic Party. Please give it up for my friend John Edwards."

After Edwards spoke, Obama paid homage to themes Edwards cared about, particularly the goal of stitching together what Edwards calls the two Americas.

"John Edwards," Obama said, "ran a campaign that made us all focus on what matters."

The candidate also praised Edwards's wife, Elizabeth, who was reportedly less enthusiastic about Obama, for "her courage and her resilience, her unyielding passion and commitment."

In an interview last week, Edwards strongly suggested that he was leaning toward Obama, in part because he had adopted Edwards's signature issue of poverty. Edwards praised both candidates for caring about Americans who are struggling.

"I think they're both very strong on the issue. . . . and Senator Clinton has been working on this for decades, and particularly focused on children," he said. But poverty issues, he added, have been "central to Senator Obama's life."

Obama spent Wednesday morning trying to shore up support among industrial workers and union members who have sometimes proved skeptical. He talked about the troubled American economy and vowed to lead a resurgence.

"Our job has to be to fight to make the economy fair again. I think that is going to be the central issue in this election: Who can restore a sense of fairness and economic growth for everybody -- bottom-up economic growth, instead of trickle-down nonsense," he told supporters after touring a Chrysler plant.