Jimmy Carter backs Obama - heavy hint

All eyes have been on Al Gore to do a bit of senior statesmanship with regard to the Democratic presidential nomination. But now that real old Democrat senior statesman, Jimmy Carter, has dropped a very heavy hint that he is supporting Obama. He didn't say as much, but his interview with a Nigerian newspaper leaves no real room for doubt:

Former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter has hinted that he might cast his vote for Senator Barack Obama to aid his emergence as the candidate for the Democrats in America’s bid to elect a new President.Carter, who is a Super Delegate from Georgia State, gave this hint at a media interaction after the Carter Center Awards for Guinea Worm Eradication in Abuja yesterday.Carter, who was accompanied by his wife Rosalynn, did not profess a direct support for Obama but rather choose to make a veiled statement.“We are very interested in the primaries. Don’t forget that Obama won in my state of Georgia. My town which is home to 625 people is for Obama, my children and their spouses are pro- Obama. My grandchildren are also pro- Obama. As a Super Delegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for but I leave you to make that guess," he said.

Hat-tip to Ben Smith and Political Wire.

Bloomberg via Political Wire also reports that Obama has passed Clinton in terms of support from Democrat elected officials:

Obama, an Illinois senator, has the support of 99 Democratic U.S. lawmakers and governors, compared with Clinton's 96 -- a dramatic turnabout since the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, when Clinton, a New York senator, had more than double Obama's support within this group, 91 to 43