Sen. Leahy likens his endorsement of Obama to his endorsement of RFK

As expected, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) just formally endorsed Barack Obama in a conference call with reporters. "We need a president who can reintroduce America to the world, and reintroduce America to ourselves," Leahy said, later adding, "Barack Obama represents the America we once were and want to be again."

Leahy likened his support of Obama to the 1968 presidential campaign, when as a young prosecutor he endorsed Robert Kennedy over Hubert Humphrey. "He was bringing us a sense of hope, bringing us together," Leahy said. "I know those are intangibles, but it encouraged me to go against the establishment in my own state, and go with Bobby Kennedy."

Leahy also came out strongly against the ongoing lawsuit in Nevada, where the state teachers union and some Clinton backers are trying to shut down the special caucus locations for Las Vegas Strip workers. "If you're shutting people out from the nominating process, you're going to be discouraging people all the way down," Leahy said. "And that's not the approach we want to take in the United States."

Drawing a not-so-subtle parallel to contestants in the 1960 Democratic primary, Leahy said that, as a college student, he supported John F. Kennedy over Lyndon Johnson.

"Nobody doubted the great experience of Lyndon Johnson," he said. "But I never questioned my commitment."