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"Timed for maximum exposure," was the compliment ABC anchor Charles Gibson paid to the Obama campaign for its introduction of Edwards precisely at the evening news hour. "This is a very well-timed announcement," concurred Dean Reynolds on CBS and NBC's Lee Cowan saw Obama's campaign hope "at the very least that this takes some attention from that big loss." ABC's George Stephanopoulos (no link) was more definitive: "They have been very good at pulling out endorsements like this after losses," he said admiringly. "This was designed to completely squash the West Virginia story."
The West Virginia story was indeed a terrible one for Obama. ABC's David Wright (embargoed link) called it "a pitiful performance" that exposed a regional weakness in the Appalachian heartland. Wright drew the map where Obama has failed: Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the western half of New York State, states which "could hold the key to victory in November." Edwards' endorsement, with his 18 delegates from early primaries, redressed the loss that Obama suffered in West Virginia and it may help with "those white blue collar voters," NBC's Cowan suggested, who are "the core of Edwards' support." Interestingly, CBS' Reynolds pointed out that Edwards arrived to endorse Obama without his wife Elizabeth: "She is not on board," he reported. "This endorsement is not her endorsement. It is her husband's."
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