Endorsements help candidates ... tangentially
"What should I care what some Senator I have never heard of thinks about Barack Obama" Bill Maher said a couple weeks ago on his show. It got me thinking, "What should I care what the New York Times, Senator Bob Casey or Governor Bill Richardson say about Senator Obama?" Truth be told, my vote is not dependent at all on endorsements. And why should it be?
I do think endorsements help candidates, but probably tangentially. For an endorsement to sway my vote, the person endorsing a candidate would have to be someone I truly look up to and who's opinion I respect above my own. I think endorsements are probably most valuable in getting less educated and less politically aware voters to back a candidate. Or, they may help people on the fence who like voting with the majority of their party (or not against it, at least).
Obama received a tremendously strong endorsement from Ted Kennedy, yet still lost Massachusetts 56 percent-41 percent (Kennedy won reelection in '06 with 69 percent of the vote. Obviously, his constituents did not flock to Mr. Obama). Would he have lost worse without Kennedy's endorsement? Who knows? But, bottom line, endorsements help, but probably not that much — at least not in this election.
— Adrian
