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Samuel Wurzelbacher, who became famous when John McCain repeatedly referred to him as "Joe The Plumber" during the third presidential debate, endorsed the Republican presidential nominee today.

A registered Republican, Wurzelbacher did not come out in favor of a candidate before today, though he has long appeared to be leaning towards McCain. The GOP presidential nominee has consistently invoked Wurzelbacher on the campaign trail.

"I mean I have a pretty good idea who I’m going to vote for but you know that’s my - you know, the nice thing about going into the booth is only me and the lever knows," Wurzelbacher told CBS' Katie Couric right after the third debate. "I think McCain did a fine job this evening, I think he brought up some good points. I do like his health care and I do like his, where he stands on taxes."

Wurzelbacher campaigned for McCain in Columbus, Ohio this morning. He said Barack Obama wants to redistribute wealth and would make America a socialist nation, according to the Associated Press. He also said he believes Obama will raise taxes on the middle class, despite Obama's promises to cut their taxes.

Despite the presence of the first Alaskan on a major national party ticket, Alaska's largest newspaper endorsed Barack Obama today.

The Anchorage Daily News editorial board acknowledges that Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate was a momentous event for the state and writes that "Many Alaskans are proud to see their governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage."

But the editorial continues:

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

After enumerating other reasons the paper's board backs Obama over McCain, the editorial returns to the subject of the state's governor with a particularly biting critique, saying she is not ready for the presidency and calling her "too risky" as a vice president:

Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she's a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Read the full endorsement here.

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For the first time in its history, the Chicago Tribune has endorsed a Democratic candidate for president, calling Barack Obama the “strongest candidate” to “lead us through a perilous time and restore in us a common sense of national purpose.” More from the editorial:

”Many Americans say they're uneasy about Obama. He's pretty new to them.

We can provide some assurance. We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready.”

The AFL-CIO, the U.S.'s largest labor organization, endorsed Barack Obama on Thursday, paving the way for the organization's money and manpower to get behind the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The unanimous decision from the 56 member union presidents and other member of the executive council was expected once Hillary Clinton dropped out of primary contest with Obama. The organization declined to make an endorsement during the primaries, but a dozen individual unions did endorse Clinton, according to the Associated Press.

"Barack Obama has proven from his days as an organizer, to his time in the Senate and his historic run for the presidency, that he’s leading the fight to turn around America," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney in a statement. "We’re proud to stand with Sen. Obama to help our nation chart a course that will improve life for generations of working people and our children."

The unions will now be spending parts of its $200 million war chest to help Obama, as well as get-out-the-vote efforts which are critical to Democratic campaigns. They have also launched a new Web site, Meet Barack Obama.

"Our program is going to be worker to worker and neighbor to neighbor. We’re ready to mobilize. We’re ready to rock and roll. This country and our people are ready for change," said Gerald McEntee, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who was one of Clinton's top union supporters and is also the AFL-CIO's political committee chair.

The AP reports that between the AFL-CIO and the rival Change to Win labor organization (which has already endorsed Obama), the nation's labor movement plans to spend around $300 million.

Calling him "the most liberal senator" in Congress, Democratic Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he won't endorse the presumptive Democratic nominee.

But Boren said that he will vote for Obama at the Democratic convention in August and also plans to vote for him on Election Day in November.

"I think this is an important time for our country," Boren told the AP. "We're facing a terrible economic downturn. We have high gasoline prices. We have problems in our foreign policy. That's why I think it's important."

Boren is the only Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegation and is seeking a third term in his largely rural district.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., has endorsed Barack Obama, CBS News confirms. Clyburn is the highest ranking African-American member of Congress.

Clyburn told the Associated Press that he was calling on South Carolina superdelegates to back Obama, who is now just 44 delegates shy of clinching the Democratic nomination, according to the latest CBS News count.

On Wednesday, John McCain received the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee, the evangelical Texas mega-church leader.

The endorsement could help McCain shore up support amongst conservatives in a state where Mike Huckabee has been running relatively strongly. Huckabee complained about Hagee's decision to back McCain, saying, “I felt that it was totally out of character for what I knew he believed. Or at least I thought he did.”

But what Hagee believes could turn out to be a problem for McCain, if the reaction over the past few days is any indication. As CBS News' Dante Higgins points out, Catholic leaders asked McCain to distance himself from Hagee over anti-Catholic comments such as calling the Catholic Church "The Great Whore."

McCain responded to a question on the issue today by saying that while he is "very proud of the Pastor John Hagee’s spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel," it "does not mean that I support or endorse or agree with some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said or positions that he may have taken on other issues."

And there are, it turns out, a fair share of "other issues" to worry about. Bloggers such as Salon's Glenn Greenwald have been pouring through Hagee's record and uncovering controversial statements on a whole range of issues. The pastor made this comment in an interview with NPR:

"All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that.

The newspaper carried the story in our local area, that was not carried nationally, that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it would was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other gay pride parades.

So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing."

Hagee also said, in the same interview, "Islam in general -- those who live by the Koran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews."

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There has been quite a bit of confusion over whether or not U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a highly respected civil rights leader, has shifted his support from Hillary Clinton, whom he had long backed, to Barack Obama.

The New York Times ran a front-page story today saying Lewis now "tilts to Obama." The story claimed that Lewis "planned to cast his vote as a superdelegate for Senator Barack Obama in hopes of preventing a fight at the Democratic convention."

But the Clinton campaign is now circulating a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggesting the Times report "is not accurate." The Washington Post has a similar report in which a Lewis spokesperson says he "has left the option of changing his superdelegate support for Clinton on the table, but made no decisions."

Why are people so concerned with Lewis' opinion? It has a lot to do with Obama's recent emergence as Democratic front-runner. The Democratic establishment still largely backs the formerly "inevitable" first lady, but with Obama's recent run that support is shaky.

There is a sense that the defection of the enormously well-respected Lewis could open the door for other Democrats to switch sides as well. And in a race that could come down to the opinions of the superdelegates, a group largely comprised of party insiders, such a shift could decide the nomination.

A Republican source tells CBS News that former President George H.W. Bush will endorse John McCain on Monday morning in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Bush is the latest high-profile Republican to throw his support behind McCain, who is now trying to consolidate Republican support in the face of some conservative opposition. Former bitter rival Mitt Romney endorsed McCain yesterday.

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who has shown particular strength with Southern voters, remains in the race despite mounting pressure to pull out to ease McCain's transition to a general election fight.

As the Associated Press notes, the current president has not formally endorsed McCain, but he suggested in an interview on Sunday that the presumptive nominee had his backing. President Bush called McCain a "true conservative" but said the Arizona senator had "some convincing to do" to win over critics like Rush Limbaugh.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has another name to trot out when defending himself against conservative skeptics: Anti-abortion activist Gary Bauer. Bauer, a former presidential candidate, endorsed the Arizona senator today.

"John McCain has dedicated his life to defending human rights around the world, including the rights of the unborn," Bauer said in a statement released by the McCain campaign. "I admire his consistent 24-year pro-life record and demonstrated commitment to the values that keep our families and communities strong."

McCain thanked Bauer in the statement, adding this: "I have long admired Gary's commitment and passion for our shared pro-life and pro-family values. Gary has always been a forceful, unapologetic advocate for the sanctity of life and traditional marriage, judicial restraint and a strong American foreign policy based on our values."

UPDATE: McCain also secured the endorsement of former Florida governor and presidential brother Jeb Bush today. "He is determined and steadfast in his commitment to reducing the burden of high taxes, restoring the people's trust in their government, and winning the war against radical Islamic extremists," Bush said in a statement released by the McCain campaign.

But not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. As CBS News' Joy Lin notes, conservative activist Paul Weyrich is backing rival Mike Huckabee, despite the fact that Huckabee has little chance of winning the GOP nomination.

"He called me first of all and initiated the conversation and indicated to me that he felt like I was the one guy that was left that was a true conservative that really believed things that mattered to a lot of conservatives and it involved everything from strong national defense to immigration to tax policy, the life question," Huckabee said.