Black Superdelegates Reconsider Backing Clinton

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis says he'll vote for Obama as a superdelegate

By JEFF ZELENY and PATRICK HEALY
New York Times
Feb. 14, 2008, 11:54PM

MILWAUKEE, WIS. — Rep. John Lewis, an elder statesman from the civil rights era and one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's most prominent black supporters, said on Thursday night that he planned to cast his vote as a superdelegate for Sen. Barack Obama in hopes of preventing a fight at the Democratic convention.

"In recent days, there is a sense of movement and a sense of spirit," said Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who endorsed Clinton last fall. "Something is happening in America and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap."

Lewis carries great influence among other members of Congress. His comments came as fresh signs emerged that Clinton's support was beginning to erode from some other black lawmakers who also serve as superdelegates. Rep. David Scott of Georgia, who was among the first to defect, said he would not go against the will of voters in his district, who overwhelmingly supported Obama last week.

The developments came on a day in which Clinton set out anew to prove that the fight for the Democratic nomination was far from over. Campaigning in Ohio, she pursued a new strategy of biting attack lines against Obama, while adopting a newly populist tone as she courted blue-collar voters.

Clinton also intensified her efforts in Wisconsin, which holds its primary on Tuesday and where she and Obama now have the first dueling negative television advertisements of the campaign. In the ads, Clinton taunted Obama for refusing to debate her in Wisconsin.

Yet even as the Democratic rivals looked ahead to the primaries in Wisconsin, Ohio and Texas, Lewis said he and other prominent black party leaders had been moved by Obama's recent victories and his ability to transcend racial and geographic lines.

Though Lewis had praise for Clinton and for her historic candidacy, he said he would decide within days whether to formally endorse Obama. He also said he and other lawmakers would meet in the coming days to decide how they intended to weigh into the nominating fight.

"If I can be used as a mediator, a negotiator or a peacemaker, I'd be happy to step in," Lewis said. "I don't want to see Mrs. Clinton damaged or Mr. Obama damaged."

Jay Carson, a spokesman for Clinton, said on Thursday: "Congressman Lewis is a true American hero and we have the utmost respect for him and understand the great pressure he faced."

The comments by Lewis underscored a growing sentiment among some of the party's black leaders that they should not stand in the way of Obama's historic quest for the nomination and should not go against the will of their constituents. As superdelegates, they may have the final say, which is something Lewis said he feared would weaken Democrats and raise Republicans' chances of winning.