Kerry endorses Obama

Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, on Thursday announced that he is backing Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in the 2008 White House campaign.

In an e-mail to supporters, Kerry said all of the candidates would “make a fine President.” However, he added that he believes Obama “is the right choice.”

{mosads}“The moment is now, and the candidate for this moment is Barack Obama,” Kerry said in the e-mail. “Like him, I also lived abroad as a young man, and I share with him a healthy respect for the advantage of knowing other cultures and countries, not from a book or a briefing, but by personal experience, by gut, by instinct. He knows the issues from the deep study of a legislator, and he knows them from a life lived outside of Washington. His is the wisdom of real-world experience combined with the intellect of a man who has thought deeply about the challenges we face.”

The primary benefit of the endorsement is that Obama will get access to Kerry’s impressive fundraising operation at a time when multi-state campaigns will strain the candidates’ resources.

With his announcement of support for Obama, Kerry shunned his 2004 running mate, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who is running a distant third to the Illinois senator and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

However, Edwards praised Kerry in a statement.

“Our country and our party are stronger because of John’s service, and I respect his decision,” Edwards stated, adding, “I continue to believe that this election is about the future, not the past, and that the country needs a President who will fight aggressively to end the status quo and change the Washington system and to give voice to all of those whose voices are ignored in the corridors of power.”