The possibility that Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) could drop his support for Hillary Clinton and endorse Barack Obama is one of the most ominous signs yet for her. Certainly Lewis feels tremendous pressure to do so because his constituents in Georgia voted overwhelmingly for Obama on Super Tuesday. But the Clintons know this isn’t just any one congressman bowing to the winds of his district.
Lewis, the civil rights leader and hero to many, provides the kind of cover Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) gave many establishment Democrats to support Obama. It may not begin an avalanche, but it will release more than a few Democrats, both black and white, to support Obama.
Remember that though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) are neutral, the leadership circle now appears to favor Obama, which speaks volumes to the rank and file, who are the superdelegates poised to decide the nomination. Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), who has stayed neutral, is loyal to the Clintons but also to his friend and Illinois delegation member Obama. Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) has remained neutral but is fond of Obama, who won his state in a landslide. People around Pelosi, like her closest friends Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), have endorsed Obama.
Lanny Davis has argued that superdelegates are supposed to make an independent decision in their support of a candidate. But if the numbers keep growing in Obama’s column, we are likely to see little independence out of members of Congress who answer not only to their voters but to their leadership as well.
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