The Will Rhodes Portmanteau

Hillary Clinton wins in W VA and Obama picks up the endorsement of John Edwards, still not quite sure about his wife - and in all probability John Edwards’ delegates.

That means that Obama is just about across the winning line for the Democratic nomination. Can it get any better for Obama from here?

Despite trailing in pledged delegates, superdelegates and the popular vote, Clinton has repeatedly said her campaign will keep going. Clinton campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Wednesday that, “We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over.”

Wednesday’s endorsement could help Obama reach the blue-collar voters who have been reluctant to embrace his candidacy. On his flight from Grand Rapids to Chicago, Obama told reporters he has no doubt Edwards will help him in every demographic.

And the signs are beginning to show with Thursday’s endorsement by the powerful United Steelworkers Union.

“When the presidential primary contests began last year, our Union felt strongly that because of Senator John Edwards’s deep commitment to working people and because of our shared beliefs, he deserved our strong endorsement,” the union said in a press release. “Today, by virtue of a unanimous vote of our International Executive Board, we find ourselves once again in agreement with Senator Edwards, this time with his decision last evening to endorse Senator Barack Obama.”

Seems so.