Trying to help him out with working class white voters, perhaps? The AP reports (via Memeo):
Democrat John Edwards is endorsing former rival Barack Obama, fresh signs of the party establishment embracing the likely nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.
Edwards was to appear with Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich., as Obama campaigns in a critical general election battleground state.
The endorsement comes the day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in West Virginia. The loss highlighted Obama’s work to win over the “Hillary Democrats” — white, working-class voters who also supported Edwards in large numbers before he exited the race.
Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and the 2004 vice presidential nominee, dropped out of the race in late January.
Both Obama and Clinton immediately asked Edwards for his endorsement, but he stayed mum for more than four months. A person close to Edwards, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he wanted to get involved now to begin unifying the party. Obama also signed on to Edwards’ poverty initiative, which was a major cause for Edwards in his campaign and since he left.
The article went on to say that Elizabeth Edwards “is not part of the endorsement.”
No word on whether or not Obama called the hair-obsessed Edwards “sweetie” as he did a female reporter while touring the Chrysler plant in Detroit today. Video below:
As Ben Smith notes, this isn’t the first time Obama’s called a female “sweetie” while on the campaign trail.
Gentleman blogger Bob Owens explains to the Barack Obamas of the world when it’s right to call a gal “sweetie” and when it’s not:
I don’t object to the word “Sweetie”… when addressing a female child, or as a term of endearment with a relative or close friend. Using it condescendingly here as Obama did here in addressing a grown, professional woman is demeaning, and the reporter he called “Sweetie” is obviously steamed at the dismissive slight.
That’s exactly right.
I don’t have a problem with a man calling me sweetie as long as he knows me and we’re on good terms. If I’ve just met you or haven’t known you for very long and you call me sweetie, I turn cool very quickly. This is especially true if a woman younger than me who I don’t know very well addresses me as “sweetie.” Exception to the rule: Women who are older than me (especially women from the south) generally use it as a term of endearment, and even if they don’t know me I’m ok with them using it.
It’s been my experience that women who are younger than me who use it have done so in a tone tinged with condescension and feigned superiority. For me, when I hear it from them, it’s like listening to someone dragging their fingernails across a chalkboard. Grrr.
As far as Barry O.’s “sweetie” remarks are concerned, they’re no big deal in the scheme of things as far as I’m concerned (female Hillary supporters, on the other hand, believe otherwise), but if he gets elected president he better watch who he calls sweetie - the first time it happens when he’s in the middle of a Q&A with the White House press corps in the Rose Garden, he’ll learn … if he hasn’t already after today.
On a related note, the Bush-hating, Chavez-supporting, Kucinich-endorsing actor Sean Penn weighed in today on Barack Obama while at the Cannes Film Festival:
”I don’t have a candidate I’m supporting and I’m certainly interested and excited by the hope that Barack Obama is inspiring,” he said, but went on to accuse him of a “phenomenally inhuman and unconstitutional” voting record.
”I hope that he will understand, if he is the nominee, the degree of disillusionment that will happen if he doesn’t become a greater man than he will ever be,” Penn said. “This is the most important election, certainly in my lifetime, and maybe ever.”
Now that makes sense. 
“Hey, man! Like, I find Barack Obama inspiring, even though I think the dude has, like, a phenomenally inhuman and unconstitutional voting record. Huhuh! Oh yeah - let’s party!”
Update - 7:30 PM: CNN reports that Obama has apologized for calling the female reporter “sweetie.”
Here’s the voice mail he left for the reporter.
Still no apologies, though, for blatantly misrepresenting McCain’s 100 years war comments and also the Mc’s remarks on the economy …
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Edwards throws his support to BO?? Who is honestly surprised by this?? We all knew that as soon as it was winding down John boy was going to endorse the the leading candidate.
This is like the much awaited snowfall in January. Surprise it’s snowing!!! 
The very fact that there is speculation that BO needs Edward’s help with the white working class really shows that they are worried.
Also, honestly, what does Edwards really know about the working class?? - Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 5/14/2008 - 8:40 pm
Interesting, not the endorement, but Drudge right now is making it look as if Edwards might be BO’s choice for VP.
Link
Is this an attempt to influence and bring in more white working class voters?
Or is this an attempt to see who can make the most people faint?
Comment by sanity @ 5/14/2008 - 10:34 pm
Interesting. Grand Wizard Ron Paul has been receiving 5 to 6% of the vote in GOP primaries, and the MSM thinks that it is a huge deal (the greatest candidate since Harold Stassen?).
Why no similar breathless coverage of the Breck Girl’s prowess among the embittered G*d-and-guns-clinging typical white people of West Virginia?
Comment by Mwalimu Daudi @ 5/14/2008 - 10:42 pm
I think Sanity’s nailed it. This is just a typically transparent Edwards ploy to suck up to Obama and make himself the front-runner for the VP nomination.
After all, maybe he can deliver all those hicks who spend their time praying, hunting, and watching NASCAR.
Comment by Great White Rat @ 5/14/2008 - 10:54 pm
Two Obama supporters in my life (mother and wife) had two different takes on Obama’s “sweetie” remark. My mother, 60-ish, says she would have loved Obama to call her sweetie. My wife, 30-ish, said she didn’t like it and wanted to slap him. So there’s your point proved ST.
Edwards can’t bring “those hicks who spend their time praying, hunting, and watching NASCAR” (just using your words Great White Rat) to vote for Obama. Obama has lost them, probably never had them, and that’s life. Just the way it is. If Obama wins the presidency, and that’s a big IF in my book, the best way to get them on his side is to DO SOMETHING THAT POSITIVELY EFFECTS THEIR LIVES. If not, no dice. Not ever.
On a similar vein, if a white person doesn’t like me because I’m black, I don’t have a problem with it. As long as that person(s) don’t try to physically harm me and mine, we good. I will respect your right not to like me since your not causing me harm. And in Obama’s case, that’s the best he can hope for with a certain part of the electorate.
Comment by T-Steel @ 5/14/2008 - 11:10 pm
T-Steel, I agree. My last comment was sarcasm. Edwards might be able to deliver his own family. Or most of them. That’s about it.
Comment by Great White Rat @ 5/14/2008 - 11:14 pm
I am just speaking for my views and not others, but I have not seen the rampant racism that Obama’s campaign and others tout.
It really is unfortunate that race has been brought to the center stage, and the fact that to criticize someone of a different gender or a racial background is now considered ‘racism’ or ‘bigotry’.
In many ways, I would think to people who actually lived through and experienced racism that this would be an insult to how the political pundits and MSM have used race / racism in thier reporting and speeches.
For myself, I am white (well 25% Cherokee), middle aged (37), and my family have had several friends that are black, chinese, and even inter-racial couples (black male / white female) who by the way are one of our better friends. Oh, and I live in the Detroit Metro area.
Racism, for my thought, is not as rampant as these campaigns have made it out to be in my opinion. Yes, here are dumbasses who are morons, but for the most part I see people are reasonably decent.
For my part, I judge a person not on thier color, thier race, or thier gender, but on how they act.
I don’t understand how someone cannot see the issues, the problems, and how someone acts, doesn’t weigh things like these, but will only vote for someone because of thier color or gender.
But it is hard to ask questions of a pundit or criticize thier actions when they turn around and cry, RACISM!!!
It is a nice deflection, but does nothing but paint most Americans as redneck hillbillies that hate blacks or hates women, and that really does infuriate me because it is not true.
Show me your record, your accomplishments, what you stand for, what you support, who supports you, ect.
Your race, your gender and your age really don’t matter to me, as long as you can do the job, hold to the values of the majority that votes for you, and respect and honor America.
America is the greatest nation on this earth. No where do as many flock to her shores for entry (legal or illegally) as they do to America. No where do it’s citizens enjoy so many freedoms and rights as they do in America. We are the Nation with a heart, as there is no where that has given as much as Americans have, both in lives and in donations to support others / and other countries.
No person or country is perfect, we have made our mistakes, but the good we as Americans have done far outweigh the mistakes that have been made.
Yes, I am an American - and damn proud of it.
Comment by sanity @ 5/15/2008 - 12:29 am
If this axiom held true then Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would be out of a job in less than a year.
Interestingly enough, this type of stereotypical thinking is a form of racism. One think I am really fed up about, is jokes about people from other states. I have come to a point where I just don’t find that humorous. I was at a friends house and he wanted me to watch this Talladega Nights movie, Good Lord was it stupid and boring. In 2 hours I think I only found 3 things that were funny. Yippie the superior minds in Hollywood find the NASCAR folk funny and point and laugh at them. Yet a Dem candidate wonders why those same NASCAR people won’t vote for him. It don’t take a rocket scientists to figure out that one. - Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 5/15/2008 - 10:19 am