An email sent out from the McCain/Palin campaign early this morning, stated "The McCain-Palin campaign announced that a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter who is a member of the Democratic National Committee's Platform Committee will endorse John McCain at a press conference at the Capitol Hill Club today, September 17th."
CNN reports who that prominent Clinton supporter is.
Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a DNC member and a woman known as a "Hillraiser" is endorsing John McCain for president according to her spokesperson.
The announcement will take place just blocks away from the DNC headquarters and she will announce that she intends to "campaign and help him through the election," referring to John McCain.
In an interview with CNN this summer, Forester did not hide her distaste for eventual Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
“This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like him,” she said of Obama in an interview with CNN’s Joe Johns. “I feel like he is an elitist. I feel like he has not given me reason to trust him.”
Not only is Rothschild a prominent Clinton supporter, but she is also a member of the DNC’s Democrats Abroad. Forester is also the CEO of E.L. Rothschild, a British investment firm which owns businesses around the world.
According to the Associated Press report about Rothschild backing John McCain, she has also called Obama "arrogant" and said he has problems connecting to the average American.
Reactions are varied from Democratic supporters, with Clinton diehards that have already stated they will not vote for Barack Obama, such as No Quarter, hailing Rothschild's decision
Ooooooooooh. The rich and wise Lady de Rothschild!!! We Clinton supporters know how much this means. We revere Lynn Forester de Rothchild and she’s with us!
I would imagine though that CNN had some palpitations over this one. Even in their Obama stupor, they know what this message brings— More Clinton supporters voting for McCain.
Obama supporters show the opposite reactions, as seen at Huffington Post, saying Rothschild is a hypocrite because she is rich and calling Obama an elitist.
[Update] McCain campaign issues a statement (H/T Top of the Ticket) where Rothchild says:
In an election as important at this, we must choose the candidate who has a proven record of bipartisanship and reforming government, and that's John McCain. We can't afford a president who lacks experience and judgment and has never crossed party lines to work for meaningful reform. Amid tough economic times and foreign policy concerns, we need someone who is ready to lead. Although I am a Democrat, I recognize that it's more important to put country ahead of party and that's why I support John McCain.
Rothschild will be actively campaigning for McCain until election day.
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