Former Clinton Official Backs Obama

September 7, 2007, 2:02 pm

By Jeff Zeleny

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Federico Pena, a former mayor of Denver who also served as Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration, announced his endorsement today in the Democratic presidential campaign.
He took a pass on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose husband hired him, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who succeeded him as energy secretary. The party’s best candidate, he believes, is Senator Barack Obama.
“I have come to conclude that Barack Obama has the depth of judgment that our country needs to usher in a new era of global leadership,” Mr. Pena told reporters this afternoon on a conference call arranged by the Obama campaign. He added, “For me, judgment and wisdom are far more important than experience. But frankly, I like the experience that Senator Obama has.”
The value of endorsements, of course, remains an open question. But campaigns always are eager to trumpet their snagging of a high-profile one, particularly if they served in the Clinton administration.
So why Mr. Obama over Mrs. Clinton or the other Democrats? “I have a number of friends who are running for president,” he said.
But Mr. Pena said he beleives Senator Obama would be best able to unify the country and offer a fresh start - “unincumbered by the past” - unlike any other Democratic candidate.

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