Friends of mine just asked what I thought John Edwards would do now. Would he endorse Obama or Clinton? Then I got an email asking what I thought Bill Richardson would do.
I have no idea on either of them — but endorsements at this point are of less and less consequence. . .unless Al Gore comes out for someone. Gore’s franchise matters, and I know that the Obama team is working overtime trying to get to Gore any way they can. He’s ducking their calls.
As long as there is a serious chance of Hillary Clinton winning, Gore will not challenge her — even though he would love to scratch his anti-Clinton itch. If she ended up winning the presidency, his life efforts on climate change would suffer significant political setbacks.
But on endorsements — it turns out Ted Kennedy didn’t matter much. Massachusetts didn’t go to Obama. John Kerry’s celebration of Obama’s gut and unique identity didn’t help. Maria Shriver’s support didn’t matter. I think Oprah Winfrey did matter — not so much with African-Americans but with white men. She is a crossover celebrity. Just my hunch. Could be wrong.
But what about Jack Nicholson — who played Daryl Van Horne in Witches of Eastwick and who endorsed Hillary Clinton on Friday.
Nicholson is one of my favorites — and maybe someone who matters to many others. As best as I can tell, the fairly divided results tonight and the strength of Hillary’s position in California are due to Jack Nicholson.
May be just as good an explanation as any other.
— Steve Clemons
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