Edwards endorses Obama

Barack Obama secured a long-sought-after endorsement from rival John Edwards, a blow to Hillary Rodham Clinton's long-shot bid to salvage her campaign as top Democrats coalesced around the party's likely presidential nominee.

The announcement came a day after Clinton had sought to convince top Democrats that her 2-1 victory over Obama in West Virginia on the strength of working-class voters was evidence that her campaign still had signs of life despite Obama's largely insurmountable delegate lead.

Edwards, who had based much of his candidacy on supporting the working-class voters that Clinton has been capturing and Obama hopes to woo, made a surprise appearance with the Democratic front-runner in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a critical general election battleground state.

(China Daily 05/16/2008 page12)