Trickle Of Obama Endorsements Continues

Barack Obama has picked up endorsements from eight superdelegates since the end of last week, the biggest of which is West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, who made his endorsement in a statement today. While Hillary Clinton won West Virginia's primary by 41 points last week, Byrd explained his decision to back Obama: "After a great deal of thought, consideration and prayer over the situation in Iraq, I have decided that, as a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, I will cast my vote for Senator Barack Obama for President. Both Senators Clinton and Obama are extraordinary individuals, whose integrity, honor, love for this country and strong belief in our Constitution I deeply respect."

More Byrd: "I believe that Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history. Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support."

Obama leads in the CBS News overall delegate count with 1,907 compared to 1,714 for Clinton. While Obama is unlikely to reach the number needed for the nomination (now 2,026 due to Mississippi's special House election) with tomorrow's contests, he is expected to have won the majority of the pledged delegates available overall when the results from Kentucky and Oregon are in.

And there continue to be signs that Democrats are coalescing around Obama's candidacy. The Politico reports that former Clinton campaign manager (and longtime aide) Patti Solis Doyle is considering taking a job in the Obama campaign. Doyle was ousted from the Clinton campaign following a string of loses in February.