Teamsters Set To Endorse Obama for President As Hillary Attacks

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., acknowledges cheers as he prepares to speak at a campaign rally in Dallas, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008.

The Teamsters Union which is comprised of 1.4 million members will endorse Barack Obama sometime today. This is the third large union endorsement for Obama this week. Previously, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) endorsed him.

Obama will meet with Teamster President James P. Hoffa in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday. The endorsement is expected to come soon thereafter, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the planned formal announcement.

This is extremely disconcerting news for Hillary Clinton. It appears that three major union players in the Democrat Party have foresaken her candidacy.

Union support will be key in the Democratic primaries in the next few weeks, particularly in Ohio on March 4 and Pennsylvania on April 22. Ohio and Pennsylvania have some of the nation’s largest number of union workers, with more than 15 percent of the workforce unionized in Pennsylvania and just over 14 percent in Ohio.

The endorsement from the Teamsters is Obama’s third from organized labor in a week. The 1.9-million member Service Employees International Union endorsed the Illinois senator last Friday, and the smaller United Food and Commercial Workers endorsed him last Thursday.

In the meantime, Hillary has come out swinging at Obama.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, staggered by 10 voting losses in a row, ridiculed surging rival Barack Obama on Wednesday as all talk and little substance as she tried to slow his momentum.

At a fund-raising event in New York, Clinton belittled Obama as an inexperienced choice for commander-in-chief in a dangerous world, for advocating a health care plan that is not as expansive as hers, and for giving airy speeches.

“It’s about picking a president who relies not just on words but on work, on hard work,” she said. “We need to make a choice between speeches and solutions, because while words matter greatly, the greatest words in the world are not enough unless you match them with action.”

“Now others might be joining a movement,” she said. “Well, I’m joining you on the night shift, and on the day shift.”

Hillary Clinton is behind in actual delegates by a little but in political momentum a great deal. She needs to win on March 4th in Ohio and Texas.

Watch the attacks to increase because it is now overtime and sudden death at that.