Robert Byrd 1917 -2010

The Lion of the Senate is dead. The West Virginian served longer in the US Congress - 6 years in the House of Representatives, 51 years in the Senate - than anyone else in the history of the Republic. During his tenure, he did much that was admirable but I personally find it difficult to forget that he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and that he opposed the landmark Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s.

Robert Byrd Endorses Obama

West Virginia Democratic Senator Robert Byrd, who once was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, endorses Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. This comes as a surprise because voters in last week's West Virginia primary voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton by a 41% margin. The nonagenarian Byrd, who is the third most powerful Democrat in the Senate and currently its longest serving member, said of Obama:

I believe that Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history. Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support.