The campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) recycled a nine-month-old endorsement from an NAACP leader earlier this week when the discussion about race in the Democratic primary reached a fever pitch and a new poll indicated that black voters were sharply breaking for Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).

The campaign announced that California NAACP President Alice Huffman endorsed the former first lady on Monday, adding that this coincided with the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday (which was on Tuesday).

The endorsement announcement was clearly aimed at showing that Clinton had significant African-American support amid intensifying criticism of her remark on former President Lyndon Johnson’s involvement in passing the Civil Rights Act. Some interpreted Clinton’s comment as diminishing the role of Dr. King in the civil rights movement.

“Over the years, Hillary Clinton has earned my respect as a staunch advocate for the rights of people invisible to our nation’s government, including women, minorities, children, and seniors,” Huffman said in the release announcing her endorsement this week. “As president, I feel strongly that Hillary will create an atmosphere in this country that accepts and promotes the rights of all Americans.”

Meanwhile, Monday’s Rasmussen presidential tracking poll showed a widening gap between Obama and Clinton among black voters, with the Illinois senator leading, 66-16.

At press time, Huffman told The Hill that she has been a “very-longstanding supporter” of the Clinton campaign and confirmed that she endorsed the senator last year. She also stated that it was the campaign’s decision to make an announcement this week.

“Part of it is strategy,” Huffman said, adding that it was beneficial for the Clinton campaign to put the spotlight on the support of “someone like me.”

The Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Darrell West, the John Hazen White Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Brown University and the director of the school’s Taubman Center for Public Policy and Department of Political Science, said the campaign’s move was “a little deceptive,” because the endorsement was made at an earlier point.

West said, “To be able to announce an endorsement from an NAACP [official] at a time when race is dividing the country is really good timing.” West added that this week’s Huffman endorsement would have been a savvy maneuver if the earlier one had not been noticed.

While the Huffman case might be the most blatant example, there have been other instances when Clinton managed to boast of an endorsement at an opportune time.

On Oct. 11, 2007, The Hill reported that former Vice President Walter Mondale would formally back Clinton. Yet the campaign did not make an official announcement of the high-profile endorsement until early November. At the time, the former first lady was trying to battle back from her poor debate performance in Philadelphia, where she fumbled on a question about whether she supported allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

On the day after the Oct. 30 debate, the campaign announced that the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was backing Clinton — her highest-profile union endorsement so far.

The Clinton campaign, however, is not alone in securing a major supporter at a key moment.

Two days after his surprising loss to the former first lady in New Hampshire, Obama received the endorsement of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), an event that steered some media coverage away from Clinton’s victory.

It is unclear, though, when Kerry made his decision. And the backing of the Massachusets senator could have helped Obama in neighboring New Hampshire.

West, the Brown University political science professor, said that “generally, politicians announce endorsements when they get them. They don’t hoard endorsements.”

But he added that a benefit of waiting to announce prominent supporters is that “you can roll them out when you really need them.”

West pointed to another reason as to why candidates seem to be getting endorsements during rough patches of the campaign, like Clinton with AFSCME and Obama with Kerry.

“Sometimes endorsements are most valuable when they come at a low point for a politician,” West stated. “You remember people that were with you when you were down.”

At least one other presidential candidate also used the tactic of touting an endorsement more than once.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who earlier this month dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination, last June announced that he had received the endorsement of four members of Congress, including Texas Democratic Reps. Silvestre Reyes and Gene Green. However, the campaign had already pointed to the support of the two lawmakers in a release nearly a month earlier.

For Clinton’s campaign, there are many instances in which a union, senator or other prominent political figure endorsed the former first lady on the heels of a debate or another major event.

In December, Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) announced that he was backing Clinton the day after a debate in his state.

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, once among the Democrats thought to be launching their own White House run, and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers endorsed the former first lady four days after another Iowa debate in August.

Retired general and 2004 Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark said he would support Clinton three days after a Sept. 12, 2007 debate. The endorsement, aimed at boosting Clinton’s foreign policy and national security credentials, followed the congressional testimony of Gen. David Petraeus on the situation in Iraq. After her questioning of the general, some of the Republican presidential candidates had blasted Clinton for her remark that Petraeus’s reports “really require the willing suspension of disbelief.” 

PRESS RELEASES

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=5187

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=1494