Casey Quickly Changed Tune On Endorsement

By Martin Kady II

(The Politico)  Sen. Bob Casey must have caught the Obamamania bug over the past few weeks.

Back on March 5, the day after the big Texas and Ohio primaries, Casey, a freshman Democrat from Pennsylvania, was very firm in talking to Politico about superdelegate endorsements, given the high profile of his home-state primary April 22.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned, endorsements by superdelegates are vastly overrated,” Casey told Politico and a few other reporters outside the Senate chamber that day. “They [the candidates] have plenty of time to debate the challenges in Pennsylvania. … I said a long time ago I’d stay neutral.”

Casey also said he wanted to play a role as a “unifier” in the party instead of taking sides.

How quickly things change.

Today, Casey will endorse Obama at a speech in Pittsburgh, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer story. In fact, Casey will join the Obama bus tour through Pennsylvania, adding the powerful Casey family brand name to the campaign.

In his March 5 comments, Casey warned that  “our voters will have no patience for nastiness” if the Obama-Clinton fight continues to head in a negative direction. 

Whether the Casey endorsement will have an effect on the polls remains to be seen. Hillary Clinton has a double-digit lead over Obama in most Pennsylvania polls.

The Crypt will update with Casey's comments later today as he explains his endorsement.