WASHINGTON – Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Bucks County Democrat, today endorsed the presidential bid of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
“I believe that Barack Obama is the best chance to change the direction of our country,” Murphy said in a telephone interview. “I’m inspired by his call to action to change how business is done in Washington.”
“He is our most inspiring candidate,” said Murphy.
As the only Iraq War veteran serving in Congress, Murphy might help to identify Obama as the favorite of voters opposing the war. The freshman senator has attempted to contrast his position against the war with that of Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who voted for the original war authorization in 2002.
Murphy, who just returned from a trip to the Middle East, is the first member of the Democratic Philadelphia congressional delegation to endorse a presidential candidate. He said he was announcing his preference now because “I need to be truthful when people ask me who is the best candidate.”
INQUIRER: What He Said