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One immediate and local impact of John Edwards' endorsement yesterday of Barack Obama -- Iraq war veteran and Edwards delegate Joshua David Denton of Portsmouth did what he told me he would in late January when Edwards dropped out of the race: he waited to see who Edwards would endorse and decided accordingly. In this case the 26-year-old vet activist has thrown his support to Obama. "My fear with Hillary was just because she is who she is -- for better or worse -- she would sink, not just lose the presidency," but Democrats in Congress, Denton told the AP. Denton was one of the four delegates Edwards won for his 3rd-place finish in the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8 (which seems like a longer than 4-plus months ago).

When Bush speaks...run for safety
President Bush couldn't resist hurling the appeasement accusation at the Dems and Obama during a speech in isarael. It was typical Bushian (brainless) politics and policy and the Obama folks didn't wait long to respond to highlight the poison obvious: “It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack. It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power - including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.”

New magic number: 2026
For those of you playing at home, the new Dem nomination clinching threshold has changed -- no, not the Clinton's campaign alternative universe number of 2210 (if you include the wayward boys and girls in Michaigan and Florida who ahve been expelled from primary school for breaking the rules) but 2026 -- the increase is due to the stunning pick up on a Congressional seat in a special election in Mississippi Tuesday night (stunning because the GOPers threw not one but two kitchen sinks into battle there: and lost by eight points. In short, the Dems gained another SuperD by winning the seat.
As of late yesterday, NBC reports that Obama needs 139.5 to reach the magic number; Clinton needs 302.5.

SuperD shuffle
The United Steelworkers Union followed the lead of John Edwards and switched their endorsement from Edwards to Obama -- and politely called for Clinton to bow out. “We share Senator Obama’s call for significant changes to these bankrupt policies, just as we earlier shared Senator Edwards’ And all of us, including we hope Senator Clinton for whom we have the utmost respect, must now do everything we can to ensure that Barack Obama is the next President of the United States. Now is the time for contention and division to cease, and for us to unite behind the changes for which Senator Obama and our members are calling," the union said in a statement.
And the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that "Rep. Jim McDermott on Thursday became the fourth U.S. House member from Washington to endorse Barack Obama for president. The Seattle Congressman told the P-I's Joel Connelly that Obama is his pick because "I am confident as president he will end the war in Iraq and bring our sons and daughters home."
McDermott has represented Seattle for 19 years and is one of the more liberal voices in the Democrats' 235-member House caucus. He is the last House member from this state to declare his support for a presidential candidate.
McDermott joins at least four other Washington "superdelegates" who have endorsed Obama in the race for the Democratic nomination: Gov. Chris Gregoire; Reps. Rick Larsen, Adam Smith and Brian Baird; and Pat Notter, a member of the Democratic National Committee.
Sen. Hillary Clinton has the support of five of the state's superdelegates, including Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Reps. Norm Dicks and Jay Inslee, and King County Executive Ron Sims.
Obama won Washington's caucuses earlier this year.
(UPDATE) Obama added 2 more: California Congressmen Henry Waxman and Howard Berman, both major committee chairmen. (Campaign says Obama is now 130.5 total delegates away from the nomination.)
(ANOTHER UPDATE) President Larry Cohen of the Communications Workers of America, a super delegate for DC and a member of the Democratic National Committee, announced his support for Obama.

Victory plan for HRC
Alas for citizens of Hillaryland, her whopping victory in W.V. Tuesday became old news fast. Edwards sucked up the excitement oxygen and Obama grinded on with a net 3.5 SuperD haul for the day. But in my daily link, Gail Collins in the NY Times offers hope of the hard working variety that includes:
1) A big, big win in Kentucky next Tuesday. Ideally, Obama should be limited to no more than 100 votes.
2) Oregon, scheduled for the same day, inexplicably breaks off and sinks into the Pacific Ocean.
3) Puerto Rico, clocking in on June 1, not only gives Clinton a huge majority, but also manages to become a state in advance of the vote.
4) Finally, on June 3 as the South Dakota polls open, Thomas Jefferson’s head on Mount Rushmore comes to life and starts shouting, “You go, girl.”
An ambitious scenario, true. But nothing less than we’ve come to expect from the most hard-working political family in American history.