Super Delegate George McGovern Switches to Barack Obama

1972 presidential candidate George McGovern, a super delegate, has changed his backing from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama. He didn't stop there. McGovern urged Senator Clinton to drop out of the race so the party could begin to unite and prepare for the general election.

This action is interesting for two reasons. First, George McGovern is a longtime friend and supporter of Hillary Clinton and, finally, McGovern by virtue of being a super delegate cuts into the remaining power base Senator Clinton has; this could be the death knell.

McGovern's decision came on the heels of the Indiana and North Carolina Primaries. Obama handily defeated Clinton in North Carolina and while it looked like Clinton was going to trounce Obama in Indiana, she won by the skin of her teeth.

From the outside, it would seem that all signs point to Barack Obama getting the Democratic Party's nod to be their presidential candidate. It didn't matter which Democratic candidate won, history was going to be made since this would either be the first African-American or first woman presidential candidate.

Why did McGovern change his mind? Politics is not known for "support at any cost." No politicians in their right minds are going to alienate a candidate when it looks like they are going to win, and Obama looks like he is going to win.

Also, as I recall from 1972, George McGovern was a very idealistic candidate. I'm reasonably sure that after seeing the results of the primaries, he felt that it was truly in the best interest of the Democratic Party to endorse Barack Obama.

It appears that Barack Obama is creating a groundswell of public support.

While I am not desirous to turn this into an opinion, still, I wonder if it isn't good for the country to have an African-American President. It may be good for the White population to see that their lives will not appreciably change and perhaps, the Black community will see that having a black president isn't the windfall they thought it would be.