Civil-Rights Leader Lewis Backs Clinton

(CBS)

The Hillary team trumpeted the news in a press release.

"I have looked at all the candidates, and I believe that Hillary Clinton is the best prepared to lead this country at a time when we are in desperate need of strong leadership," Lewis said. "She will restore a greater sense of community in America, and reclaim our standing in the world."

The fact that Lewis, a Georgia congressman who was director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and a victim of police brutality during a 1961 civil rights march, decided not to back Barack Obama is a setback for the Obama campaign.