PA: Sen. Casey to Endorse Obama (updatedx2)
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president today in Pittsburgh, sending a message both to the state's primary voters and to undecided superdelegates who might decide the close race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Dan Pfeiffer, deputy communications director for the Obama campaign, confirmed that Casey would announce his support during a rally at the Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial and that he would then set out with the Illinois senator on part of a six-day bus trip across the state.The endorsement comes as something of a surprise. Casey, a deliberative and cautious politician, had been adamant about remaining neutral until after the April 22 primary. He had said he wanted to help unify the party after the intensifying fight between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"There are few stronger advocates for working families in Pennsylvania than Sen. Casey," Pfeiffer said.
By coming out for Obama, Casey puts himself at odds with many top state Democrats - including Gov. Rendell, Rep. John P. Murtha and Mayor Nutter - who are campaigning for Clinton.
This will certainly not be enough to win PA for Obama, but it is still great news.
It will help reduce Clinton's margin of victory which will reduce both her momentum and delegate pickups.
Casey is well liked all over the state and should help Obama pick up some working class voters.
The source, reached by The Inquirer yesterday, said that Casey was also impressed with how Obama had stood up to the pressures of the campaign, including recent attacks over the racially incendiary remarks of his former pastor.Casey's decision was also personal, motivated in part by the enthusiasm his four daughters - Elyse, Caroline, Julia and Marena - have expressed for Obama, the source said. "He thinks we shouldn't be deaf to the voices of the next generation."
Once again, Wright backlash proves vastly less damaging than predicted.
And remember this for when the endorsement is inevitably downplayed as unimportant:Clinton's campaign in particular has been working to woo Pennsylvania's undeclared superdelegates ahead of the April 22 primary in hopes of building momentum. Sen. Clinton recently hosted U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pittsburgh, and she and her staff repeatedly have called upon U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa.http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1206670209138890.xml&coll=1
Update: If you don't understand what the Casey name means in PA enjoy this anecdote about Senator Casey's father:
Restricted from seeking another term as Auditor General, Casey declined to seek the office of State Treasurer in 1976. Instead, a county official who also was named Robert Casey won the Democratic primary and the general election, spending virtually no money and doing virtually no campaigning; voters merely assumed that they were voting for the outgoing Auditor General.[citation needed] In 1980 the Republicans launched an extensive advertising campaign to clari fy that "Casey isn't Casey," and the Democratic state treasurer was defeated for re-election. In 1978, yet another candidate named Robert Casey, a different Robert Casey, this one a teacher and ice cream parlor owner, likewise received the Democratic party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor, again with a no-spending, no-campaigning strategy. This Casey, who joined Democratic gubernatorial nominee Pete Flaherty, narrowly lost to Richard Thornburgh and William Scranton III.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_P._Casey%2C_Sr.
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