Dodd Set To Endorse Obama

We have our first former Democratic candidate endorsement … and for those of you waiting on the edge of your seats for Edwards or Richardson, be prepared to be a bit disappointed. Chris Dodd is endorsing Barack Obama Tuesday in my hometown, Cleveland, Ohio before the Democratic Debate. This will be welcome news for Obama, who seems to be rolling out a big endorsement a week now.

Dodd will endorse his colleague, a senator from Illinois, in Cleveland on Tuesday, according to a Democratic official close to Dodd who requested anonymity because no formal announcement had been made.

Dodd’s support, coupled with his liberal credentials, could provide a boost for Obama as major contests near in big states such as Ohio and Texas on March 4. Obama has won some key Democratic endorsements in recent weeks, including Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, a close friend of Dodd.

Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had been vying for Dodd’s support since he exited the presidential race after a poor showing in the Iowa caucus last month. Dodd, who won his Senate seat in 1980 and chaired the Democratic National Committee from 1995-1996, has long-standing ties to the Clintons.

Dodd is a “superdelegate,” one of nearly 800 Democratic officeholders and party officials who automatically attend the national convention and can vote for whomever they choose. They have become an important force in the close race between Clinton and Obama, and both candidates are lobbying hard for their support.

Now, let’s be honest: Dodd does not have any significant popular support outside of Connecticut, where Obama already won. But he has a strong record with liberals, particularly on FISA at the moment. He also was endorsed previously by IAFF, the union that carried Kerry to victory in the 2004 primary, and he might have sway in getting them to join the other unions that have recently joined Obama. That would be a major get for Obama, since there currently is a divide between government oriented unions (AFSCME, NEA) that support Clinton and non-government ones (SEIU, UCW, Change to Win) that support Obama. Moreover, firefighters are just more inspiring and credible than any of the other unions I listed (no offense intended). Furthermore, IAFF president referred to Obama’s support in mid-January as “breathtaking.”

But with the strong Obama vibe at dailykos, it’s not that surprisng Dodd joined along, as he was their second favorite candidate and he had been hinting Obama might not be able to be stopped. With Edwards joining Obama endorsers SEIU and Moveon.org for an anti-war effort Monday, he may be next in line. But clearly that’s speculative at this point. I’m reasonably sure, though, that Richardson will not endorse until he can be 100% sure he is backing the winning candidate. He has everything to lose by endorsing wrong and little to gain from jumping in too early.

This does offer me one last chance to use my favorite Dodd picture of the cycle; I encourage everyone to read the caption for what will probably be one last time. (Dodd is in no way a VP candidate, let’s nip that in the bud; cabinet possibility, sure.)