Daschle Backs Obama

I'm kind of surprised that some major Dem names are willing to make endorsements this early in the primary season, but former Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle is casting his lot with Obama:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle is throwing his support to Sen. Barack Obama in the scramble for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, an Obama campaign aide told CNN.

Daschle lost his Senate seat from South Dakota to Republican John Thune in 2004 after serving as the chamber's majority leader and minority leader during a three-term stint. He was the first Senate leader to lose a re-election bid since 1952.

His commitment to Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, comes nearly 11 months before the Iowa caucuses, the first votes of the 2008 campaign. The wide-open race has already drawn nine Democrats and 10 Republicans who have either declared their candidacies or formed exploratory committees.

I'm not quite ready to declare the Hillary campaign dead, but the momentum is certainly going toward Obama.