Donnelly endorses Obama

By KEN de la BASTIDE

U.S. Rep Joe Donnelly is no longer sitting on the fence, deciding to cast his superdelegate vote at the Democratic convention for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Donnelly, D-2nd District, announced Tuesday that he will support Obama over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Prior to the May 6 primary election, Donnelly said he would wait until after the election and would base part of his decision on which presidential candidate carried Indiana and the 2nd Congressional District.

Clinton carried both Indiana and Donnelly’s district, but he has decided to support Obama.

“We had two exceptional candidates who worked non-stop in the state,” he said. “They talked to the people of the state and there was no fluff questions.”

Donnelly said an endorsement is not an exact science but he believes Obama will be the better president to move the country forward.

“I compare his leadership to John Kennedy’s in the 1960s,” he said. “He was able to bring people together to work in a bipartisan manner to address the issues facing the nation.”

Donnelly said the nation is facing big challenges and he believes Obama can bring people together.

“At a time when too many Americans have lost faith in their government, Senator Obama can move us beyond the politics of stalemate and gridlock that has kept us from meeting the monumental challenges of our time: Our dependence on foreign oil, a health-care gap that leaves tens of millions uninsured, the steady deterioration of our manufacturing base, and an economy that is not working for working people,” he said.

In issuing his statement in support of Obama, Donnelly also offered praise for Clinton.

“Senator Clinton is a tenacious fighter for the American people, and particularly for working families, but I believe Barack Obama is the president that we need at this moment in history,” he said. “He has helped engage over 3 million new voters, tapped into the American people’s powerful desire for change, and pointed the way toward a more hopeful future for our country.”

Donnelly said he is not in 100 percent agreement with Obama on all the issues, but shares a commitment to working people, trade that is fair, job growth at home and affordable health care.

Donnelly’s opponent in the fall election, Republican Luke Puckett, said voters need to know why he aligned himself with the “most liberal senator in the Congress.”

“Second District Democrats rejected the extreme liberal positions Barack Obama campaigned on right here in the Hoosier State,” Puckett said.

Donnelly’s decision gives Obama the support of six superdelegates from Indiana, with Sen. Evan Bayh and three others backing Clinton.

Clinton won 38 pledged delegates in last week’s Indiana primary and Obama won 34 pledged delegates, according to unofficial calculations by The Associated Press.

Two Indiana superdelegates — Reps. Peter Visclosky and Brad Ellsworth — remain uncommitted.

More than two dozen superdelegates across the country have endorsed Obama in the week since he routed Clinton in North Carolina and lost Indiana.

He erased her longtime advantage in superdelegates this weekend. Superdelegates are party leaders who attend the convention as delegates by virtue of their positions and are not selected in primaries and caucuses.

Ken de la Bastide can be reached at (765) 454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com

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