Obama Picks up another Fantastic Four: Senator, Congressman, State Chair and DNC Super Declare

Four new superdelegates are in the Obama column, raising him above Senator Clinton in the superdelegate count by NBC's estimation, and expanding his lead in other news services' counts.

The day started off with Hawai'i DNC superdelegate Dolly Strazar making her announcement, citing the need to rally behind Obama and to support her state's 'favorite son', who won the Hawaii contest handily.

Later, Congressman Tom Allen from Maine threw his support to Senator Obama, hoping that his announcement and the announcements of other superdelegates would help bring the primary to a "graceful end".

Back in Hawai'i, previously uncommitted Senator Daniel Akaka decided to endorse Obama as well:

Rather than echo his supporters or review his platform on health care, the
environment, or the war in Iraq, I want to add a different voice to those who
believe Senator Obama would make a fine President. He is the antidote we need to cure Washington of the uninspired, partisan politics that has plagued our country far too long.

What makes him uniquely qualified? A March 2008 feature in Vanity Fair magazine offers a clue: “He was born and came of age in Hawaii, the 50th state and in many ways among the freest‑thinking, where mixed‑race ancestry is …a given... If Obama comes across as a bit of a softy—if you don’t see the toughness or the ambition at first—it may be in part because he spent his formative years in a place where ‘Live Aloha’ had not yet become a slogan aimed at recapturing a more gracious time, but was simply a way of life.”

I have great hope, that in his own way, Barack Obama will achieve what I have
been working to accomplish my entire Congressional career, more tolerance and
understanding, an appreciation for common goals and interests, rather than an
emphasis on our differences.

The fourth superdelegate to announce for Obama today is Idaho State Party Chair R. Keith Roark, whose decision gives Obama a clean sweep of (four) Idaho superdelegates in the primary. If Obama's tremendous 79%-17% victory in Idaho wasn't enough of a factor, former President Clinton's recent comments deriding Idaho's role in the Democratic Party probably sealed the deal.

Obama now leads Clinton in Pledged Delegates (1590 - 1426), Superdelegates (279 - 276.5) and as a result, in Total Delegates (1869 - 1702.5).