Americans Away From Home

Barack Obama got another big endorsement today from John Edwards' National Campaign Manager, David Bonior, a former Congressman.

"This year is a fundamental watershed year in American politics...like 1932, like 1960, when Kennedy was President, bringing that kind of passion and change in direction," said Bonior.

What pushed Bonior to endorse now?

"We have a strong messenger, who's attracted millions of new people into the political process. You can see it in the numbers, financially, the people who turn out at rallies, and in the campaign who've worked for him all over the country. It's very exciting," Bonior said, "And very real."

"The unique pivotal moment we may find ourselves in now," is how Tom Daschle called it, as the former Senate Majority Leader joined Bonior in a call with reporters.

Daschle described last Tuesday as "a critical day, fundamentally changing the race. Obama beat every poll and expectation. He continues a commanding lead in delegates, gaining support from superdelegates and national leaders like David every day."

Bonior said he endorsed Obama because he'd proven he can bring change to Washington, meaning better jobs and pay. "And Obama brings a movement with him, energizing millions of people who'd given up or were new to politics. That kind of passion, and that kind of experience, added to change," were cited by Bonior as why he endorsed Obama.

Why now? Bonior said he'd been waiting for Obama to show him the fight he wanted to see.

"What he's done in the last couple of weeks, but even before that, in standing up for this nomination, the way he handled some of the most controversial issues, showed he has great skill, poise, determination and spirit," Bonior explained. "I was looking for someone who'll get up and fight for working people every day."

Daschle said there's been an extraordinary change in voter participation in primary states, calling it phenomenal. "It's been two, three, four times greater. My favorite is Nevada, where we went from 9,000 voters to 117,000. We haven't seen this since the sixties."

"This is transformational," Daschle added, "It's real transformation politics, and history in the making."

Daschle put aside questions about whether the long primary contests had harmed the Democratic Party. "The real advantage to what's happened is that this spirited race for the last 14 months has energized our party and people all over the country. We've seen doubling and even quadrupling of participation levels in every state where we've had a primary, and we've had 46 of them."

"The beauty is that it allows us come back to those states with an organization in place, with volunteers already familiar with our organization, " Daschle said, calling the primary season, "just a dress rehearsal for the big contest this fall."

Mr. Bonior, asked if he'd spoken with Sen. Edwards, said they had talked last weekend, but he declined to reveal Edwards' position, saying their conversation was private.

It's possible Edwards is merely saving his vote to step in should something urgently require cooler heads. Bonior did say, "I'm hopeful all political parties will eventually come to the position I've taken today."

Reminiscent, perhaps, of "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?" Perhaps first, it's the campaign manager, next, the former candidate himself?

Carole