Gov. Keane of Virginia to Support Obama

February 15, 2007 | Permalink

In an announcement that will probably come Saturday at the Virginia Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Day fundraising event in Richmond Virginia, Gov Tim Keane will announce that he is backing Obama in the primaries:

“He has been real helpful, yeah,” Kaine said at a news conference Wednesday. He would not directly confirm the report, but said there would be weekend developments.

“I’m still pondering (it) in deep detail and am likely to make an announcement sometime soon,” Kaine said with a grin. “I think it’s going to be a great day Saturday is what I think.”

It is also noted in the article that Mark Warner and Se. Webb will also be on hand at the event. It is unknown if Warner or Webb will support Obama (Obama did campaign for Webb in his tight race against George Allen). Webb has been rumored in some places to be a VP candidate, and having a Senator with as impressive a military background on his side would be huge for the Obama campaign.

It’s good for Obama that he’s getting this announcement, but Webb is the one to watch. I imagine he’s being courted heavily by both Clinton and Obama, mostly because his background. Warner as well could be someone to watch. The trio of Virginians is heavily influential, not just in Virginia, but they have backing elsewhere, in part because fo Webb’s SOTU response, and in part because of Warner’s attempted run. If Obama gets their endorsements, he’ll have gone a long way to countering the Clinton machine in the south.

Other Obama News:

The Chicago Tribune reviews Obama’s new website so far. The groups, if you are wondering, are growing steadily, but not unbelievably. It also notes that the interactivity means there will not be a blogger problem like Edwards had.

Someone tried to copyright ‘Obama Bin Laden’ but it was rejected. Apparently that person needs permission from both Obama and Bin Laden to register the copyright.

More questions that need answers about Obama’s candidacy in general and specifically whether he can win the black vote. No one for a second can assume that even part of the questions about Obama that need to be answered before the election have been answered. Right now, for good and bad, he’s mostly hype. Whether style can become substance, we’ll see.

And lastly, a fanstastic Post article about Obama’s consultant, David Axelrod, who has in the past worked on local elections with candidates Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton, and Tom Vilsack, and also with the John Edwards campaign in 2004. It’s about his role on keeping Obama on message and how a consultant really works.

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Written by John · Filed Under Barack Obama, Democratic Graveyard, Democratic Ticket, Mark Warner, VP Candidate Graveyard