Nancy Pelosi Backs Barack Obama

Amid all the press surrounding the more glamorous endorsement of John Kerry today, you may not yet know that veteran congressman George Miller (D) of California also endorsed Obama this morning. This is an absolutely pivotal endorsement, because, as Chuck Todd wrote today over at First Read, "This is perhaps the closest to a Nancy Pelosi endorsement as you can come without actually getting it. Miller is incredibly close with her politically. He wouldn't be doing this without her consent." Chris Matthews and his entire roundtable on today's "Hardball" wholly agreed with Todd's assessment: this is HUGE for Obama's chances in the upcoming California primary on the so-called Tsunami Tuesday. If you ask me, it's even bigger than Kerry's very eloquent and impassioned endorsement today in Charleston (which was the best damned speech I've heard Kerry give since he was a kid just back from Vietnam handing out some much-needed straight talk on Capitol Hill).

The significance of Miller's endorsement cannot be overstated. Lisa Vorderbrueggen of the Contra Costa Times reports that Miller, a more than 30-year veteran of the congress, "is also a renowned champion of women in politics -- he is a top advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco." Given his stature as a "champion of women in politics," he answered the question of why he chose not to help elect the first woman-president with a question of his own: "why not elect the first African-American?" He distinguished between the Clinton and Obama campaigns by drawing contrasts between Clinton's more traditional candidacy and Obama's more genuine promise of change. "I've watched both campaigns and I know both candidates," he said, "and I believe Obama offers us an opportunity to truly change the way we do business in Washington.

Miller further praised Obama as one who "has the skills and experience that's necessary to really challenge the status quo in Washington, D.C.," and noted that he is "very encouraged by the energy of the people responding to him and his vision of how people can come together to solve the problems that confront us."

Obama's support among elected officials in California is growing. In addition to Miller, Obama also won the endorsements of Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland, CA and Susan Bonilla, the Contra Costa County Supervisor. His chances of securing the nomination may come to depend heavily on the results of the California primary on February 5th, an open primary in which independents and Republicans will be able to vote in the Democratic primary, so he needs every single endorsement he can get there. Pelosi's approval of her right-hand man's endorsement of Obama is just huge!