Election 2008
(2008-06-05)
BALTIMORE, MD
(wypr) -
U. S. Senator Ben Cardin shed his uncommitted super-delegate status yesterday, announcing his support of Senator Barack Obama. WYPR's Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith comments in his weekly essay.In Maryland, yesterday, there was a kind of super-delegate landslide for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Senator Ben Cardin went for him. So did Congressman John Sarbanes and Governor Martin O'Malley - who switched his support from Senator Hillary Clinton.
Better late than never.
But, in an ideal political world, you want to be able to tell the winner of a hard-fought race in your party: I was with you from the start. It's all about loyalty. And early loyalty is always better. It really helps if you're looking for work or a favor, which occasionally happens in politics.
In this year's exhausting race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, many super-delegates withheld their endorsements til the end of the process. Senator Cardin, among others.
Many super-delegates waited to see if one of the two finalists pulled way ahead, reducing the risk of committing to a loser. Cardin's always been a cautious player.
In his case, there were other considerations. Were the nomination fight to be with us when the party holds its convention in August, Cardin might have been in a position to help negotiate a truce.
He may have wanted to avoid any friction with his senatorial partner, Barbara Mikulski, an outspoken backer of Senator Hillary Clinton.
On the other hand, neutrality has its price. Maryland, after all, went big for Obama in the primary here. And several other state officials bid to be Obama-firsters shortly after the vote totals were available.
In recent weeks, pressure to commit built on Cardin, in particular, because Obama came to Maryland last year to support him in his race for the Senate seat vacated by the retiring Paul Sarbanes. The African-American Obama stood with Cardin over Michael Steele, who is also an African-American.
At this point in the long process, with almost everyone conceding the prize to Obama, the new goal is party unity. Cardin has always been a team player, a unifier - famously reaching out to Republicans on occasion. He didn't run for governor several years ago, in part, to avoid a split in the party.
It was way too late to claim with-you-from-the-start status, but with the nomination in sight, Cardin's vote had the advantage of high visibility. A President Obama might remember a vote that helped to nail down his nomination.
You've been listening t o an essay by WYPR's Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith. Your comments are welcome at fsmith@wypr.org.
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