www.suntimes.com/news/elections/179080,CST-NWS-obama20.article

Rare Daley move: Endorses Obama for primary
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/179080,CST-NWS-obama20.article)

December 20, 2006

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Mayor Daley has decided to abandon his long-standing tradition of remaining neutral in Democratic primaries and endorse Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential race, City Hall sources said Tuesday.

"Here you have not only an Illinoisan, but a Chicagoan who is a major contender for the highest office in the land. . . . When in our history have we ever had a favorite son this close to [the White House]? Why not get on board early?" said a Daley confidant, who asked to remain unnamed. "Hillary Clinton has been a great senator, a wonderful civic leader. But logic dictates that a Chicago mayor would be behind the Chicagoan who has taken the world by storm. Beyond that, this man has tremendous potential. The world sees that. It stands to reason that the mayor sees it."

Daley's early endorsement will mark the second time in 17 years he has taken such a stand before Democratic primary voters have made their choice.

In January 1998, he endorsed Vice President Al Gore with the presidential vote nearly two years away. Daley's brother Bill Daley, then U.S. Commerce secretary, later became Gore campaign chairman.

This time, the Daley brothers are solidly in Obama's camp.

As Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reported this week, Bill Daley has signed on as a senior adviser to Obama, who is expected to formally enter the presidential race next month.

Sources said the mayor's decision to embrace Obama was made before his brother reserved a seat on the senator's bandwagon. The mayor and Obama have been meeting about the subject for months, huddling for 2½ hours at City Hall as recently as last week.

. . . and neither one is even a candidate yet. :rolleyes:

Very odd and we're not even in '08 yet.

I guess I would expect him to endorse another politician from Illinois and Chicago, but this is rather early :blink:

On the other hand it says that Daley endorses Obama over Hillary Clinton. It does not say he endorses Obama over Gore, specifically. It may be good for us if someone knocks out Hillary before Gore gets into the race. It's hard to tell on that roll of the dice but I can see where it might work out. :read: :!:

I'm not sure what you call this in Washington but here in Texas my dear old Grand Dad, before he passed, always used the term "You just hit the nail on the head" when he agreed with you.

Well Wayne...You just hit the nail on the head.
:good:

I tell you, I haven't posted too much the last few days or so, because the signs are not good, and I don't want to be too negative here. (although maybe a few negative things and if he is looking in, it will give him the push he needs to get going)

But this one is like a kidney punch, a low blow to Gore.
And Hillary is also from Chicago, so its a blow to her.

But Al is going to need the people that look up to Daley (and the Daley name) to win this thing, and this does not spin well.

Someone higher up (Like Jimmy Carter, keep pushing Jimmy) needs to give a little kick in the you know where and get Al into this thing before we all coulda woulda shoulda.

Is there anyone else who is feeling that maybe an Academy Award on the bare space on Al's father's proverbial wall spoke about in Time Magazine goes toward replacing presidential memorabilia?

Sort of like a reverse Barbra Streisand or Sean Penn?

Al could do it without any party people like Daley. But Al will need the common working man and his vote and twenty bucks and they may just believe Al the zillion times he said he isn't planning on it.

AL- you gotta be in it to win it. All the people in the nation can't force you to run.

I don't know why you say the signs aren't good. I think they're quite good. Gore's coming up in the polls (the most recent CNN poll actually has Gore tying or beating all the major Rep. candidates), he's included in all the polls, the talking heads are talking and the writers are writing about him. It's far from over. I think it's just beginning.

We're building a movement to get people organizing meetups across the country to get Gore to run. We believe that with a groundswell of support, Gore can be convinced to run. But we have to work for it. Sitting around chatting or wringing our hands isn't going to get us anywhere.

Don't give up hope. Keep working for our dream. :good:

I am not giving up, but I worry about this Daley endorsement.
First thing my wife said with it was, wasn't Daley on Al's side in 2000?
Then she said maybe he and Daley talked.
Let's hope we are both wrong.

We all know Al will have the support needed when he gets in the race. But he has to at some point show a sign or two that he is before it is all too late.
In another few weeks it will be less than a year to go and shorter each day.

I think Daley's endorsement has more to do with Obama being from Illinois and less to do with NOT endorsing Gore. I doubt they talked. As far as anyone knows, Gore's not running. So just as Ted Kennedy jumps in early with his endorsement of Kerry, Daley is jumping in early to endorse a native son, who, btw, hasn't even announced yet that he's running. :rolleyes: