Obama Endorsed by Anti-War Group

Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of a leading anti-war group Friday and said Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton still has not adequately explained her vote to go into Iraq. Obama told reporters in a news conference that, even though Clinton explains how she would like to end the war, her explanation for her vote leading into the war is disingenuous. He said his opposition against the war from the start will make him the stronger rival to Republican front-runner and war backer John McCain in the general election. Obama's long-standing opposition to the war helped him pick up the backing of MoveOn.org, a liberal network which counts 3.2 million members and decided to support him by a vote of 70 percent to 30 percent for Clinton. The group said Friday that it has 1.7 million members in the 22 states scheduled to vote in the race Tuesday, and it would immediately begin a campaign to get them behind Obama. Obama also picked up the support of a large union in California which had endorsed rival John Edwards, who dropped out of the race this week. Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey was returning to the campaign trail in support of her friend Obama. The talk show hostess planned to hold a rally with Obama's wife, Michelle, and Caroline Kennedy on Sunday in Los Angeles. Winfrey held massive rallies for Obama in December in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. MoveOn.org executive director Eli Pariser said the country needs a president to end the war, provide universal health care, address climate change, restore America's standing in the world and "change business as usual in Washington." In his statement, Pariser thanked all the other candidates who ran in the Democratic primary for their contributions to the race. SOURCE OF THIS STORY