5-15-08, 9:25 am

Ypsilanti, Mich. – Praising Sen. Hillary Clinton and calling for the unity of the Democratic Party and all voters to defeat John McCain, John Edwards announced his endorsement of Barack Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich. May 14. In a rousing speech to a capacity crowd in the 12,000 seat Van Andel Arena, Edwards sounded major themes of his own presidential campaign and urged the crowd, 'join me in helping send Barack Obama to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.'

Edwards invoked the image of 'two Americas.' On one side are the powerful corporations and the Washington lobbyists and insiders which have given them anything they want the last seven years. On the other side are working families struggling to make ends meet.

Edwards stated that there is one candidate who can 'bring down the walls' between these two Americas. 'Democratic voters in America have made their choice, and so have I,' he said. 'Our job is to tear down these walls and give the government back to the people.'

'There is one man who knows how to create the lasting changes you have to build from the ground up. And that man is Barack Obama,' Edwards eloquently thundered. Chants of Obama-Obama-Obama resounded throughout the energized arena.

'This election,' Edwards continued, 'is about taking down the walls that divide us to see what is possible, to build one America.'

Obama, Edwards argued, is the best candidate to win universal health care, to bring honor and dignity to working men and women who are struggling to make ends meet, to end the bullying working people face in their workplace when they try to join a union, to end reprehensible treatment of veterans who have to wait many months for promised health care or who end up homeless.

Edwards said that Obama is the best candidate to repair our public school systems and ensure that all children whether they live in rural areas, inner cities, or in the suburbs get the same quality education.

'This is our moment,' said Edwards. 'We're in the fight of our lives.' And Obama is the candidate to help rebuild our country, he concluded.

Earlier in the day, Obama spoke to autoworkers in Warren, Michigan, discussing a multifaceted plan to rebuild the manufacturing sector.

'I believe that the fight for American manufacturing is the fight for America's future,' Obama told the audience, 'and that is a fight I believe we will win.'

Obama rejected as 'giving up' the McCain campaign's confession that they wouldn't fight to win back manufacturing jobs.

In extended remarks Obama focused his argument for revitalizing U.S. manufacturing on investment in building an alternative energy sector, eliminating Bush tax incentives for U.S. companies to move overseas, fair trade policies that protect workers rights, and on winning passage of a universal health care system that would reduce production costs for companies and provide economic relief to working families who often have to make tough choices between paying the mortgage or going to the doctor.

'It's time we had an economy that was driven not by foreign debt but by the American imagination,' Obama asserted.

Obama also praised the auto workers at the nearby American Axle parts plant who have been on strike for better pay and benefits for three months. 'These are things that all hard working families should expect and UAW members deserve,' Obama said. 'We stand in solidarity with the folks on the picket line and all the families who are impacted by this strike,' he added to applause.

Obama argued that the efforts of the American Axle workers are not unlike the struggles of working families all across the country who want good jobs and wages that a strong manufacturing sector can provide.

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer the same day, Sen. Hillary Clinton stated that her policies and ideas are so close to Obama's that it would be a 'terrible mistake' and a 'grave error' for her supporters to vote for John McCain instead of Barack Obama.

--Reach Joel Wendland at