A headline on the MSNBC news aggregator on the lower left sidebar announces, very concerned: Not All Democrats Going For Obama. Among those Democrats who are, at best, sitting on the fence and, at worst, spreading right-wing talking points about the Democratic presumptive nominee, are Blue Dogs Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia and Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma.

Not surprisingly, the RNC has jumped on their reluctance to get behind Obama (Marc Ambinder excerpts the memo) but as Ambinder rightly wonders:

Just asking: does the RNC really want to get into a debate over the number of partisans in each party who don't fully support their party's nominee?

From The Hill:

At least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, and more than a dozen others declined to answer whether they back the Arizona senator.

Many of the recalcitrant GOP members declined to detail their reasons for withholding support, but Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) expressed major concerns about McCain's energy policies and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) cited the Iraq war. [...]

Republican members who have not endorsed or publicly backed McCain include Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Reps. Jones, Peterson, John Doolittle (Calif.), Randy Forbes (Va.), Wayne Gilchrest (Md.), Virgil Goode (Va.), Tim Murphy (Pa.), Ron Paul (Texas), Ted Poe (Texas), Todd Tiahrt (Kan.), Dave Weldon (Fla.) and Frank Wolf (Va.). [Wolf contacted The Hill following publication of the article to correct his staff's error. His staff had said he has "yet to endorse McCain" and did not return follow-up phone calls this week].

Despite the fact that the MSNBC article leads with the Democrats divided meme (gee, what a shocker), it too acknowledges the reality of McCain's difficulty among his party's electeds:

McCain has his own issues in his party. Many conservatives opposed the four-term senator, who has worked with Democrats and strayed from GOP orthodoxy on some issues, before he sealed the GOP nomination in February. Many still express reservations about him as the party leader.

As The Hill notes:

It is not unusual for certain factions of the Democratic and Republican parties not to embrace their respective candidates for president...While some conservative Democrats have yet to endorse Obama and didn't back Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004, there are both centrist and conservative Republicans representing various parts of the country who are not embracing McCain.

But, you see, the difference is this: while for Barack Obama, the inability to consolidate his entire party behind him is a sign of weakness, for John McCain, it's excellent news!

In some ways, the lukewarm backing of some lawmakers could be a blessing, because congressional approval ratings are at an all-time low. And McCain himself has touted his independence, proudly pointing out that he has at times upset some of his Republican colleagues in Washington.

McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said, "John McCain has strong support among Republicans and even some others in the Congress for taking principled stands. While his support is rock solid, it also shouldn't be a surprise that Sen. McCain's bold record of independence on the issues isn't appreciated by every single Republican on Capitol Hill."

In the flow of endorsements in recent days and weeks -- and indeed over the past few months as well -- one thing we haven't seen is very many Senate candidates come out and endorse in the presidential race. There have been a few -- both Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick in Oregon have endorsed Barack Obama, for instance. But by and large, top-tier Senate candidates have refrained from wading into the presidential contest, whether out of fear of alienating half of the party or a desire not to make press in that way. Yet today, an endorsement from a Democratic Senate hopeful and Congressman (and thus a superdelegate to boost) for Obama.

Congressman Tom Allen is throwing his support behind Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Allen, a superdelegate to this summer's Democratic National Convention, said Monday he believes Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are both "supremely qualified" to be president. Allen has been friends for decades with Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton.

But Allen says most of the nation's primary voters have spoken, and that the time has come to bring a "graceful end" to the primary campaign.

Thus far, people like Mark Warner and Tom Udall and Mark Udall -- the top-tier of Democratic Senate hopefuls -- have not come out and endorsed either candidate for President. As alluded to before, in the eyes of most Senate campaigns, the risks of such an endorsement outweigh the potential benefits. Or at least they did.

It remains to be seen if the Allen endorsement foreshadows more to come -- if it is a dipping of the toe in water, in a sense -- or if it simply represents one American coming to a public decision about his views on the race for the Democratic nomination. In the coming weeks, we will have to wait to see if any more Udalls or Warners come out and publicly support either Obama or Hillary Clinton. But if others do follow in Allen's footsteps, we could see a new stage of coalescing in the Democratic presidential primary in which the campaign class of the party, as well as candidates who will actually face the voters in competitive general elections in the fall, are ready to see one nominee emerge.

Per Ben Smith of Politico:

Clark spokesman: No Clinton call

A spokesman for General Wes Clark, Erick Mullen, this morning denied reports that the staunch Clinton supporter had called her last night and pushed her to drop out.

"General Clark has been on business travel and certainly did not make any such call to Senator Clinton," Mullen said.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0 508/Clark_spokesman_No_Clinton_call.html

Just in; results to come... ABC News calls it a rout.

Update [2008-5-6 19:48:32 by Todd Beeton]:From CNN's NC exit polls, Obama over-performed among black voters, winning them 91-6, and Hillary Clinton underpeformed among white voters, winning them by a margin of 59-36. And remarkably there really was not much of a gender gap. Barack Obama won men 57-39 and he won women 54-42. A friend tells me that if these exit polls hold up it will translate to a 13 or so point win for Obama.

Building on the momentum across the country for Hillary, today the Hillary Clinton campaign announced the endorsement of 50 Elected Officials in Oregon.

"I am grateful to have such strong support across all of Oregon," said Senator Hillary Clinton. "I am committed to talking about the issues that matter to Oregonians - from creating new 'green collar' jobs, to protecting our environment and standing up for Oregon's rural communities."

Seven former chairs of the Democratic party, and the family of an 8th, sent a letter to DNC members today urging them to support the most electable candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Obama campaign, apparently in need of new endorsements as national and state polls show trouble for the Senator, announced today the support of former DNC chair Paul G. Kirk, Jr.  However, Kirk had already announced his support for Obama back in February.  Perhaps the campaign forgot that Kirk was already in their camp...?

Clinton enjoys the support of a majority of DNC automatic (or "super") delegates.

As reported by The New York Times, here is today's letter in full:

May 2, 2008

Dear Fellow Democratic Party Member:

Democratic National Committee members work tirelessly to elect Democrats locally, and they serve as strong advocates for finding solutions to our nation's most pressing problems. As former DNC Chairs, we are proud to be leaders in a Party that seeks to alleviate the burden of limited access to health care, fix broken systems of public education, improve working conditions for middle-class men and women, and ensure America's safety and security, at home and abroad.

Those of us who support Hillary Clinton for president do so with the knowledge that she, just like us, has dedicated her life to improving the standard of living for others, and she has worked to make our Party the strong force that it is today. Her values are our Party's values. Her record of fiscal prudence is matched by her commitment to social responsibility. Her accomplishments in the area of strengthening America's security are a matter of public record.

Hillary has run one of the most formidable campaigns in the history of our Party. Her wins this primary season are significant -- Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas. Her base of support includes women, Hispanics, seniors, Catholics, middle and low income Americans, and rural, suburban and urban voters. That's a formidable coalition tailor-made for victory in a November general election.

In fact, if the election were held today, Hillary would beat Senator McCain, but Senator Obama would lose to the presumptive GOP nominee. According to the most recent polls available, Hillary would beat McCain by a margin of 279 to 259 Electoral Votes. But McCain would beat Obama by a margin of 291 to 247 Electoral Votes.

In a hypothetical general election matchup with McCain, Clinton is winning handily (50%-41%) while Obama is statistically tied with McCain (46%-44%), according to the AP-Ipsos poll released Monday. In the days following the Pennsylvania primary, Gallup Poll Daily tracking showed Hillary pulling even with Senator Obama. As of Thursday, Hillary was ahead 49%-45%.
Hillary can win our Party's nomination. She is neck and neck with her opponent in Indiana and North Carolina. Both states have sizeable voting blocs that resemble constituencies who supported Hillary by large margins in Pennsylvania, Ohio and other contests.

Years of job loss and the recent economic slowdown mean that most Indiana and North Carolina voters are more concerned about the economy than anything else. Hillary has consistently garnered the majority of support from voters who say the economy is the most important issue facing our country.
Hillary's campaign is currently operating at full capacity in Guam, Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.

As in states that have already voted, election official are expecting record turnouts. Pennsylvania registered more than 215,000 new voters ahead of its April 22 primary. More than 200,000 new voters have registered in Indiana since the start of the year. And in counties across North Carolina, registration numbers are double -- or triple -- what they were in 2004.

More than 30 million Americans have already cast a ballot in our Party's nomination contest and millions more will go to the polls between now and June 3. The record numbers of Americans who are registering and coming out to vote reflect the excitement about our candidates and the strength that our nominee will have behind him or her in the fall. The primary process will make our nominee stronger and better prepared to take on John McCain. Our Party only gains from having more voters -- including more new voters -- all across our country.

We encourage you to continue to fully consider Hillary Clinton and the fact that she is qualified and accomplished. Too much is at stake for us not to consider deeply the choice we must make for our Party and our country.

Sincerely,
Kenneth Curtis
Former DNC Chairman (1977-1978)

Charles Manatt
Former DNC Chairman (1981-1985)

The Family of the late Ron Brown
Former DNC Chairman (1989-1993)

Mrs. Alma Brown, Michael Arrington Brown & Tracey Brown James
Debra DeLee

Former DNC Chair (1994-1995)
Don Fowler

Former DNC National Chairman (1995-1997)
Steve Grossman

Former DNC National Chairman (1997-1999)
Governor Edward Rendell

Former DNC General Chairman (1999-2001)
Terence McAuliffe

This is a big pick up for Barack Obama: A man Bill Clinton appointed to head the Democratic National Committee, a superdelegate who had previously supported Hillary Clinton's presidential big, and a Hoosier to boot. The Associated Press has the story.

A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton has switched his allegiance to Barack Obama and is encouraging fellow Democrats to "heal the rift in our party" and unite behind the Illinois senator.

Joe Andrew, who was Democratic National Committee chairman from 1999-2001, planned a news conference Thursday in his hometown of Indianapolis to urge other Hoosiers to support Obama in Tuesday's primary, perhaps the most important contest left in the White House race. He also has written a lengthy letter explaining his decision that he plans to send to other superdelegates.

"I am convinced that the primary process has devolved to the point that it's now bad for the Democratic Party," Andrew said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Bill Clinton appointed Andrew chairman of the DNC near the end of his presidency, and Andrew endorsed the former first lady last year on the day she declared her candidacy for the White House.

Andrew said in his letter that he is switching his support because "a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue this process, and a vote to continue this process is a vote that assists (Republican) John McCain."

According to the AP, the Obama campaign did not reach out to Andrew, who instead shifted his allegiance after having been impressed by Obama's handling of the Jeremiah Wright situation in recent days and Obama's "principled stand" (the AP's words, not mine) in opposition to a temporary curtailment of the federal gasoline tax.

But as much as the confidence Andrew shows in Obama's campaign is important -- and it is; the talking points he passes on to the AP are directly on mark for Obama's message -- the fact that Andrew is yet another key Democratic Party official (and a longtime ally of the Clintons at that) is calling for a beginning of the end to the process in the hopes of turning the focus of the party to fighting John McCain rather than within itself suggests that there may actually be something to the predictive but thus far illusory reports that closure may be nearing.

No doubt the results from Indiana and North Carolina next week, and to a lesser extent a state like Oregon and perhaps even Puerto Rico, will play a significant role in convincing the party to move in one direction or the other (though the race for pledged delegates is all but over at this juncture).

Nevertheless, news of the Andrew endorsement comes a day after Obama picked up three new superdelegates to Clinton's two, and ups his lead in this metric since his Pennsylvania loss to 11 to 6. Perhaps even more importantly, it represents the first time that Clinton's lead among this segment of delegates has been less than 20 since the most nascent stages of the campaign (it now stands at 19). What's more, it represents a major shift, not only in the past few days, but also the past several weeks and even few months (in the period roughly between Super Tuesday and the Pennsylvania primary, 84 percent of superdelegates announcing their endorsements backed Obama rather than Clinton).

So I'm still waiting to see if the raft of dozens of superdelegates endorsing Obama, which has been foretold at least a couple of times (back before mini-Super Tuesday in early March, as well as in the lead up to the Pennsylvania primary) but never actually came to fruition in the way it was expected, will actually and finally occur. But frankly, I'm not holding my breath, even if I do think it may happen after voting is done towards the beginning of next month.

The Associated Press has the story:

Hillary Rodham Clinton has won the endorsement of North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, a surprise boost to her candidacy in a state where Barack Obama is heavily favored to win the Democratic primary.

Easley was expected to announce the endorsement Tuesday morning in Raleigh, the state capital, one week before North Carolina's primary on May 6, according to people close to the governor and to Clinton. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement was pending.

[...]

Clinton has benefited from the support of other governors in key primary states, including Ohio's Ted Strickland and Pennsylvania's Ed Rendell. Political observers say Easley, while relatively popular, does not sit atop a massive political operation in North Carolina.

Easley is scheduled to leave office next year after serving two terms as governor. Both Democratic candidates vying for the nomination to replace him have endorsed Obama.

As noted in the AP article above, the Easley endorsement isn't everything; the two candidates running to replace him, Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore, have not only endorsed Barack Obama but even competed to prove to voters which one more strongly supports Obama. What's more, with just a week to go before election day, there isn't necessarily a whole lot that the political machine of an outgoing governor could do to tip the scales.

That said, Easley's endorsement is easily the biggest in the state at this point, and the biggest possible endorsement in the state, outside of that of John Edwards (and perhaps Elizabeth Edwards). While the endorsement will not necessarily put Clinton in the running to take the state -- recent polling puts her behind Obama by a solid double-digit margin (see both Pollster.com and Real Clear Politics) -- tomorrow should likely be a day of positive coverage for Clinton throughout North Carolina. And because we're getting so close to election day, who wins each news cycle does matter. So no doubt, this is a big pick up for Clinton.