Indiana Representative Lee Hamilton Endoses Barack Obama for President

Sounding as if he took his words straight from the "Endorsing Obama Playbook," former Indiana Representative Lee Hamilton endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president Wednesday, April 2. Hamilton spent three decades in the U.S. House of Representatives, ultimately becoming the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, and was vice-chairman of the president's September 11 Commission. He was also part of the Iraq Study Group.

It is hoped by Obama campaign staff and supporters that Hamilton's endorsement will not only lend Senator Obama much needed credibility in the national security arena but also give him the edge he might need to win Indiana's voters in the Indiana Primary on May 6. In a statement released by Obama's staff, Hamilton said that Obama had the "best opportunity create a new sense of national unity and to transcend divisions within this country, not by ignoring them or smoothing them over, but by working together with candor and civility to meet our challenges."

Hamilton's endorsement will probably help restore some of Obama's lost credibility due to the Samantha Power interview. Power, who was Senator Obama's foreign policy advisor before she resigned, revealed in an interview while in Europe that President Obama might not be able to do what candidate Obama had promised with regard to the War in Iraq.

But is Lee Hamilton's endorsement going to be enough?

Survey USA has Senator Hillary Clinton nine percentage points ahead of Senator Obama in their latest poll (March 29). She leads 52%-43% with only 1% of the potential voters remaining undecided. A Howey Gauge Poll put Obama in the lead back in mid-February 40%-25%, with 35% undecided. It looks as if most of those folks decided to vote for Clinton.