Former Clinton Supporter Switches to Obama
(CBS)
From CBS News’ Maria Gavrilovic:
COLUMBIA CITY, IND. -- Former Democratic National Committee chairman and former Hillary Clinton supporter, Joe Andrew, threw his support to Barack Obama today. Andrew, a superdelegate, said he made the switch from Clinton to Obama in effort to heal the Democratic Party.
“I am changing my support from Senator Clinton to Senator Obama, and doing so with a heavy heart about how this process has hurt the Democratic Party, but enlightened and energized by what I have seen from Senator Obama, particularly over the past days and weeks,” Andrew said.
Andrew said he is going to urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Ca., and Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev., to call upon other Democratic Party leaders to back Obama. According to CBS News estimates, more superdelegates have been endorsing Obama since the Pennsylvania primary – he has picked up 11 superdelegates since April 22nd, while Clinton has nabbed six. She still leads in the overall superdelegate count, however, 263 to 244, with 288 undecided.
As he tries to win the Indiana primary and wrap up the nomination, Obama continued to court voter blocks that usually side with Clinton. The day after he lost the Pennsylvania primary, Obama said that it is more difficult for him to win over older voters than it is to win over working class Democrats.
“The problem is that, to the extent there is a problem, is that the older voters are very loyal to Senator Clinton,” he said. “Part of that is they've got a track record of voting for not just Senator Clinton but also her husband.”
To try and counter that, Obama campaigned in a senior citizens home here today, frequently telling stories about his grandparents.
“The reason I’m running is because I’m here only because this country gave my grandparents, and my mother and me a chance,” Obama said. “They gave me a great education, they allowed my grandparents to save and build a family, that’s the American dream.”
