Opinion: Cleveland’s mayor enlists with Barack Obama

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Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson ended the little bit of suspense he had created about his choice in the Democratic presidential race by announcing his endorsement of Barack Obama at a rally Thursday where he then proceeded to introduce the candidate’s wife, Michelle.

Jackson, as we noted earlier this week, had seemed inclined to conduct a sort of political raffle for his support. He sent Obama and Hillary Clinton his thoughts on how a batch of new federal aid ($6.3 billion over five years was what he had in mind) would come in handy for Cleveland and its surrounding environs. And he indicated he would wait to hear back from them before picking a favorite.

Jackson must have liked Obama’s response. Or maybe he just decided ...

he wanted to bask in some of the warmth that enveloped Michelle Obama’s appearance in her city.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that her 46-minute speech ‘inspired tears of hope from an enthusiastic crowd’ (and apparently failed to make the type of news generated by her recent remarks in Wisconsin).

The newspaper put together a five-minute video that includes Jackson’s introduction and some high points from Michelle’s address, which you can see here.

-- Don Frederick