I have this theory, often told around these parts, that endorsements don't mean squat. There are exceptions -- Gore, the two Clintons and Carter -- but otherwise they are nothing more than empty calories.
When Harkin endorsed Dean, I was smacked down -- "Harkin is huge in Iowa! It'll be a huge boost for Dean!" Well, since then Dean has dropped what, nine points?
Granted, the endorsement is nice. And it may help sway an undecided voter here or there, but ultimately it's not that big of a deal. Voters are sophisticated enough to make decisions for themselves without handholding from some politician or celebrity.
So the next time some congresswoman or Nader-endorsing filmmaker or pop star or actor or blogger or newspaper columnist or former cabinet official or opinion journal or senator or governor or kid on the street or Oscar the Grouch or local mayor or Benji the Wonderdog or newspaper makes an endorsement, consider me unimpressed.