Kerry's Endorsement

How much currency is John Kerry's endorsement worth?

The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee came to South Carolina to endorse Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for president Thursday, bypassing his 2004 running mate, John Edwards of neighboring North Carolina.

Peter Gelzinis of the Boston Herald says the Massachusetts senator stabbed Edwards in the back -- after Edwards spent the autumn of 2004 endorsing Kerry's policies and defending him against all charges.

After the election, however, Edwards made no secret of his disagreements with Kerry or his belief that Kerry had been ineffective in countering the swift boat attacks from his rivals.

"Kerry could have climbed aboard the Barack Obama express ... in Manchester or Concord last week," Gelzinis writes. "Instead, the last Democrat to run for president chose to wait until the primary parade rolled into his former running mate['s] backyard of South Carolina."

Gelzinis says Kerry wants to help stop Edwards' campaign -- although Gelzinis acknowledges that circumstances have done a pretty fair job of stopping Edwards as it is. He says that a Democratic strategist told him, "[C]oming down to the state where Edwards beat [Kerry] in the primary four years ago tells you all you need to know.”

But Casey Ross writes (also in the Boston Herald) that Kerry's endorsement doesn't mean much.

He quotes a Boston University professor, who covered half a dozen presidential campaigns for the Los Angeles Times, as saying “Kerry does not have a powerful national presence anymore. I don’t see how his endorsement could harm Obama. But it’s not going to be a big deal in this campaign.”

That might not be the whole story.

USA Today says Kerry's endorsement brings "added organizational and fundraising strength," even if it doesn't bring many additional votes in a state Kerry lost to Edwards four years ago.

Or, as a political scientist at the University of Southern California puts it, "[W]hat [Kerry] brings is a Rolodex and a big list of contributors."

Money is truly the life blood of politics. With a substantial bank account, a candidate can stay in a race indefinitely, even if he doesn't have the actual votes.

In terms of delegates -- and actual voters -- Obama already has the numbers to be competitive until this summer's convention. He won the Iowa caucus and he currently leads the delegate count with 25 delegates committed to him. Hillary Clinton has 24 delegates and Edwards has 18.

This has been accomplished without Kerry's involvement.

To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate must have the support of 2,025 delegates.

And that's something Kerry's endorsement may help provide.