Prince Georgians Get on Board for Obama

Prominent Prince Georgians who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in her campaign for the presidency are now following her lead and announcing their support for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.)

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D), a former delegate who lives in the county, jointly endorsed Obama with Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) on Saturday, just before Clinton formally told supporters at the National Building Museum that she was suspending her campaign.

"We have been honored and proud to support Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign but now a hard-fought and history-making primary contest with record turnout has come to an end," read a joint release from the state's top two leaders.

"We must now come together as a party for the common good of our country's future to address the critical issues facing our nation."

State Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince George's), who served as an ambassador under President Clinton and was one of Sen. Clinton's most vigorous supporters in the county, said he attended her Saturday speech -- and then headed straight to an Obama event in the county attended by several hundred.

He said Clinton supporters are disappointed but he expects issues like high gas prices, a slowing economy and the national foreclosure crisis, to convince many to work hard to get Obama elected.

"There's always a bit of tension in a campaign -- it is a competition. People get excited at Redskins games too," he said. "But the presidency of the United States is more important than a football game. The majority of people understand this really is about our lives and our futures and our country."

Bowie City Council member Todd M. Turner said he's had to explain his support for Clinton to friends in Prince George's for months, given the county's overwhelming backing for Obama.
"You had to defend yourself for your selection," said Turner, who had worked for Clinton's 2000 senatorial campaign.

But Turner said he told those friends all along that he would support the party's nominee. That support comes a lot easier, he said, because Clinton now has backed Obama the same way she ran her own campaign -- "very hard, very enthusiastic."

Former Executive Wayne K. Curry, who was selected to be a pledged Clinton delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, told Prince George's reporter Avis Thomas-Lester he found it "ironic" that "two people who would be natural allies found themselves working as adversaries because of their attractiveness to different parts of the traditional Democratic Party fabric."

"They both fought honorably and respectfully, but it is now time to unify the party and move to November," he said.

Del. Benjamin S. Barnes (D-Prince George's), another delegate pledged to Clinton, said it is too early to decide how he will cast his ballot in Denver. By suspending, but not formally ending her campaign, Clinton has not released her delegates. She is said to want her delegates to vote for her at the convention in recognition of the millions of Americans who supported her during the primary. Barnes said regardless how he casts his vote at the convention, he is now on board for Obama.

One convention delegate, County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), who has endorsed both Clinton and Obama at different times in recent months, recently declared that he could not in good conscience go to the convention and not vote for Obama.

By | June 9, 2008; 4:22 PM ET | Category: Rosalind Helderman
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The untold story in the primaries is how black voters voted along racial lines.

Posted by: Racial voting | June 10, 2008 2:13 PM

What's wrong with these people? Don't they realize they've been railroaded by the OBAMATRAIN? Are they such tools that they have to swallow the kool aid poured by the OBAMA Campaign? Poor Poor Pathetic Tools. No brains, must follow those whom I am told to follow. PITY PITY PITY Goodbye America, your patriotism, pride, honor and esteem have been flushed by your very own people.

Posted by: Walter | June 10, 2008 2:35 PM

Good for you people, clinton is gone, now let support obama and forget about those racial failures. They will feel sorry about their hatred attitude and vote obama before november.

Posted by: brian | June 10, 2008 2:46 PM

Walter, you're an idiot...

Posted by: Erica | June 10, 2008 2:49 PM

They made a great choice to support
Barrack Obama. He is our last chance to
get this great nation back into the hands of the people and not the special interest groups. The Republicans have totally destroyed the World and it will take more than four years to mend it back.

Posted by: Westexacan | June 10, 2008 2:53 PM

McCain will do nothing but continue bushes failed foreign and domestic policies..or lack of most people believe..McCain has endorsed bushes weak dollar policy..tax breaks to the top 1%..which i am sure McCain loves since him and his wife have about 250 million dollars..17 billion in tax breaks to oil companies..100 year war with Iraq and another with Iran..unbalanced trade with china and endorsing NAFTA wholeheartedly..going against the new gi bill and the windfall profit tax bill..if your a corporation McCain is the second coming of bush..McCain has nothing but..lobbyist working for him and will have if people are stupid enough to believe him in the white house..get ready for war with Iran for Israel..strap your boots up boys and girls..because this war mongering idiot will have us in iran within a year..if he is elected.

Posted by: 1americanvoter | June 10, 2008 2:53 PM

everyone but..the 28% that think bush is doing ok..laughs at us..because the 28% are the only ones still thinking we went into iraq because of wmd..and not for iraqis oil..wait till bush is out of office and obama wins..then your really going to find out what fools you been..3 trillion added to the national debt..and do you know most of these buildings we paid in full for are only 25% complete..and abandoned..no one is working on them..100's of them all over iraq..vote for mccain..i just hope your young enough to be drafted..when mccain goes into iran..just heard mccain on cnbc..telling maria bartaromo..that iran is close to a nuke bomb..he is lying..all reports have said iran is 12 years from a nuke if at all possible..and at the same time israel already has nukes and refuses to let inspectors in for years..and mccain was told if we bombed iran.. oil would spike to who knows how much a barrel..mccain said we can not let iran get a nuke and we will just have to bite the bullet for israel..watch the interview.

Posted by: nomccain | June 10, 2008 3:20 PM

Blacks have always been voting 90% Democrat. Obviously they were voting for the less-white candidate in the past as well given their racially motivated votes.

Posted by: FLRepublican | June 11, 2008 7:54 AM

Some of you posters have a problem with "less white candidates". That probably includes Bill "the first less-white president".

It's good that the primaries are over and we can put aside such pettiness and concentrate on the differences at hand. It's time to say enough to the politics of big oil that the republicans (C. Rice = Chevron, the Bushs = Carlysle, Cheney = Haliburton) and war mongering (Blackwater Murddder Inc.) that have been directing Washington. Sweep the republicans out of office and bring in the democrats with B. Obama. Any pu-ma republicans can also take a swim in the Anacostia.

Chris Brown (formerly of PGC) in Hamburg

Posted by: Chris Brown | June 11, 2008 8:49 AM

I did want to post a comment on this piece, but after reading the comments already posted, I decided that discretion is the better part of valor, and that most, but not all, of those who have already posted, are better left to stew in their own juice.

Posted by: Count Bobulescu | June 12, 2008 2:05 AM

Prince Georgians Get on Board for Obama

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