Richardson endorses Obama, prods party

Pushing through the roughest patch of his candidacy, Sen. Barack Obama couldn’t have asked for better timing for the endorsement Friday of former rival Bill Richardson, according to several Democratic strategists.

The New Mexico governor and former member of the Clinton administration called Obama “a once-in-a-lifetime leader” as he campaigned with the Illinois senator in Portland, Ore., ahead of that state’s May 20 primary.

Along with such praise, Richardson advanced the argument the Obama campaign is trying to make to Democrats nationwide in its drive to wrap up the party’s nomination in relatively short order.

“It is time . . . for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and prepare for the tough fight we will have against John McCain in the fall,” Richardson said of the presumptive Republican nominee. The New Mexico governor had been wooed heavily by both campaigns since he dropped his presidential bid after the New Hampshire primary in early January.

“That’s a very powerful message,” said veteran Democratic strategist Bill Carrick, who is not supporting either candidate in the race. “We’re getting into the endgame here . . . and people are watching to see what Obama can do to close down the process.”

Obama maintains a solid lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York among pledged delegates and has garnered some 700,000 more votes.

But it is highly unlikely that with fewer than 10 primaries remaining, either candidate can obtain a majority of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. It appears that superdelegates -- party leaders such as Richardson -- eventually will make the difference. As the campaign has grown nastier, with each side questioning the other’s integrity, Obama has increasingly found himself on the defensive ahead of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.

Obama lost the Texas and Ohio primaries earlier this month. And this week, he was forced to provide a lengthy explanation of his relationship with his longtime Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

The Internet and television news programs have been abuzz with portions of Wright’s sermons in which he railed against the U.S. government for adopting what he said were racist policies. The U.S. wants blacks to “sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no,” Wright said in one sermon. “God damn America.”

Richardson singled out Obama’s response to the Wright controversy in making his endorsement Friday.

“He could have just waited for the controversy over the deplorable remarks of Rev. Wright to subside, as it surely would have,” said Richardson, who is one of the nation’s most senior Latino elected officials. “Instead, Sen. Obama showed us once again what kind of leader he is. He spoke to us as adults. He asked us to ponder the weight of our racially divided past, to rise above it.”

The ambassador to the United Nations under President Clinton, who stressed his background in foreign policy during his recent candidacy, also explicitly endorsed Obama’s ability to handle national security. Hillary Rodham Clinton has promoted her expertise in this area and repeatedly questioned Obama’s. “I trust him to do what is long overdue: End the Iraq war and bring our troops home,” Richardson said.

The Clinton campaign dismissed the importance of Richardson’s move. “I don’t think it is a significant endorsement,” said Mark Penn, the Clinton campaign’s chief strategist. “The time when he could have been most effective is long since passed.”

Richardson bristled at that statement, which he said was a stereotypical suggestion that he could wield clout and influence voters only in states with large Latino populations.

Richardson’s votes of confidence in Obama on the issues of racial relations and national security in the wake of the month’s setbacks may turn out to be very important, said Joe Trippi, a longtime Democratic strategist who advised failed Democratic presidential contender John Edwards.

“It gives a lot of other superdelegates cover to move behind Obama,” Trippi said. “It gives him a big shot in the arm.”

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noam.levey@latimes.com