WASHINGTON–The SEIU top leaders just started a conference call where they made the Barack Obama endorsement official. This national endorsement will substitute all the state-by-state endorsements that were split between Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards, said SEIU chief Andy Stern. This will let SEIU members flood the zone for Obama in Wisconsin, facing a Tuesday primary vote.
The SEIU also wants to be a player in ending the Democratic primary race sooner rather than later. I think they were also impressed with Obama’s on-the-ground organizing efforts. Unions notice that kind of thing.
Obama was praised for his “ability to appeal to all Americans across the spectrum,” said Anna Burger, the SEIU political chief.
Asked why the SEIU doesn’t save its money for the general election–where the union will have bigger fish to fry with John McCain–Burger said “we can move forward and end up having the democratic nominee resolved.
Stern cited Obama’s ability to build a coalition of voters and said he had the experience so , “it was time to become part of an effort to make Barack Obama president of the United States.”
