Berkeley Bubble

Claire McCaskill confirmed yesterday to the Politico that a majority of unpledged superdelegates on Capitol Hill now back Barack Obama, effectively confirming that we are now in the endgame of the Democratic primaries.

In a stunning blow to the Clinton campaign, we learn today that Hillary Clinton has lost another superdelegate to Barack Obama–former DNC and Indiana party state chair Joe Andrew. What’s so incredible about this defection is that it was Bill Clinton who made Andrew the youngest DNC chair in party history in 1999. But Andrew stated today that he has simply been inspired by Obama in this campaign, and that it was time to make the switch, for the good of the party and the country:

Joe Andrew, who was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1999 with Bill Clinton’s blessing, held a news conference Thursday in Indianapolis to announce his support of Obama and to urge other superdelegates to unite behind Obama in order to “heal the rift in our party.”

“I have been inspired,” Andrew said in a lengthy letter to superdelegates and Indiana voters who will go to the polls next week in a primary that could largely seal the nomination for Obama or give Clinton vital momentum.

The significance of this high-level superdelegate defection from the Clinton campaign was made clear by Kos today–it could signal to other Clinton supers that its okay to defect from her losing campaign and join the campaign of the eventual Democratic presidential nominee:

It’s a high-profile, high-level signal to other super delegates that it’s okay to switch to Obama in order to finally bring about the inevitable conclusion. One got the sense that many Clinton supers were getting antsy at the direction the campaign had taken. The dam was holding, but it has now sprung a leak. The whole thing now threatens to collapse.

In announcing his support for OBama, Andrew noted just how well Obama has handled the pressure of the Wright situation:

“He has shown such mettle under fire,” Andrew said in the interview. “The Jeremiah Wright controversy just reconfirmed for me, just as the gas tax controversy confirmed for me, that he is the right candidate for our party.”

Andrew’s decision puts Obama closer to closing Clinton’s superdelegate lead. Clinton had a big advantage among superdelegates, many of whom like Andrew have ties to the Clintons and backed her candidacy early on. But most of the superdelegates taking sides recently have gone for Obama, who has won more state contests.

Obama now trails her by just 16 superdelegates, 247-263. This week, he picked up 11 superdelegates, including three add-on delegates named by the Illinois Democratic Party, while she netted three.

As Time’s Mark Halperin reports, Obama has received the endorsement of three additional superdelegates today. Including the defection of Andrew from the Clinton camp (a net of 2), that’s a net gain of five superdelegates, as Clinton picked up only one superdelegate today.:

Obama gets endorsement of Texas DNC member John Patrick, citing his record on trade, fighting for working class.
Also expected to pick up three prominent Illinois supers — Mayor Daley, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger — as the state finishes filling out its delegate slate.
And gets former DNC leader Joe Andrew after a defection from Clinton.

Obama is getting very close to picking up enough superdelegates to make a Clinton victory impossible. Wins in Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday will only confirm in the eyes of the media what this blogger and so many other Democrats know already–Barack Obama is the Democratic Presidential Nominee.