Barack Obama gained two more interesting supporters this week, following Kathleen Sebelius’s endorsement last Wednesday. On January 31, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker announced he was backing the senator from Illinois. Volcker ran the Fed throughout most of the 1980s, and was widely praised for his work mopping up the economic mess of the late 1970s. He has almost entirely stayed out of electoral politics, so his endorsement was a surprise – and a nice one for Obama. Vying for the presidency in a time of economic insecurity, Obama will be able to point to Volcker’s support as an argument for his own capabilities.
The next day, on February 1, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels threw his political weight behind the Obama campaign. Washington holds its presidential caucus on February 9, just a few days after Super Tuesday, and Nickels’s endorsement might help Obama rack up a timely win in the state. Nickels is also notable for pioneering the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and could lend Obama extra credibility with environmentalists.
Why do I bring up these endorsements? It’s not just to congratulate the Obama campaign on another good week. It’s also to point out that both Volcker and Nickels were interviewed in the most recent issue of HPR. Check out the transcripts here (Volcker) and here (Nickels).
If Obama keeps pulling in support from HPR interviewees, who knows what could be next?
–Alexander Burns