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New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin endorsed Barack Obama this morning. In his statement, he made it clear that his top priority is rebuilding his city, “In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Obama worked to help address the needs of our Gulf Coast communities. As the Gulf Coast continues to rebuild, other cities have faced tragic disasters across this country.”

He continued, “Therefore, it is critical that this country’s infrastructure and emergency response systems are evaluated and rebuilt to sustain our cities and protect our families. What happened in Louisiana should never happen again.”

Nagin stressed that Obama is a new generation of leadership, “I have learned firsthand that a unified constituency can make what seems impossible, possible. Senator Obama represents a new generation of leadership, one that can help heal the divisions of the past and unify this country so that together we can build a stronger future.”

The Mayor talked about his first hand experience with the Washington system, “Since the immediate days following the storm, I have been travelling to our nation’s capitol to advocate for policies that aid our rebuilding effort. I know firsthand, we desperately need the leadership of someone committed to changing the system in Washington that can hold us back from moving forward. For these reasons, I endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nominee.”

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Nagin has done a fantastic job leading New Orleans, but he has a habit of speaking off the cuff. I think everyone remembers this comment.

MSNBC has been reporting that Obama has picked up four superdelegates today, but his official website lists only two, Nagin and Rep. Joe Donnelly, so we’ll go with the total needed being 148 for now.

Nagin’s Endorsement:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBdqh