George McGovern Switches To Obama, Calls For Hillary To Drop Out (Updated)

I wrote a while back ago about Hillary backer George McGovern speaking out against Hillary's negative tactics and basically calling bullshit on every argument for her candidacy that she has made.

Well today, after her big loss in North Carolina and the ass kicking she took in Indiana, George McGovern is officially switching his endorsement to Obama, and urging Hillary to drop out. This is huge, and likely a good indication of what is to come. First we had former DNC chair Joseph Andrew switch to Obama last week, and now George McGovern has had enough, two big signs to other Hillary superdelegates that they have a green light to switch over and ask her to drop out.

And newspapers are seeing the light as well. The Washington Blade, which endorsed Hillary has called for her to drop out:

Last night's results in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries have left Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton out of options. She ran a tough and spirited campaign that will be talked about for a generation. But it's over.

The time has come for Clinton to adopt a gracious and conciliatory tone, end her campaign and endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president.

It also went after how she has run her campaign:

Unfortunately, all the talk of experience and competence was belied by a campaign rife with incompetence. From Bill Clinton’s ruinous (and arguably racist) campaign swing through South Carolina, to an obvious failure to craft a strategy past Super Tuesday, her campaign staff made so many miscalculations that Hillary went from a coronation to a shocking defeat.

And her behavior during the recent and infamous ABC News debate was over the line. During that debate, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos grilled Obama over the Rev. Wright controversy and, incredibly, his thoughts on wearing flag pins. Obama was overdue for some more aggressive questioning from the mainstream media, but not on those topics.

Rather than insist on taking the questioning to a higher level, Clinton gleefully joined the Obama bashing that night. The Obama campaign should never have agreed to a debate in which Stephanopoulos was asking the questions. As a veteran of the first Clinton administration, he could hardly be expected to approach the event with any modicum of objectivity. He’s a celebrity talking head, not a journalist.

And in contrast it spoke highly of how Obama has risen above such tactics:

In sharp contrast to Clinton’s transparent, over-the-top pandering (downing shots with the locals and touting a phony love of guns), Obama has managed to stay above the fray, even during the darkest moments of the Wright saga. He could have gone sharply negative in the run-up to North Carolina and Indiana, as some advised him to do. Instead, he stuck to his own metaphorical guns and rose above the faux controversies and petty attacks. Even in victory Tuesday night, Obama praised Clinton and promised that his supporters would back her if she emerged as the party nominee.

I'd call this another flip, the first newspaper endorsement to be withdrawn and switched over to Obama, at least since last night's election.

Update: These aren't switches, they are fresh, three new superdelegates for Obama: DNC member Inola Henry of California, North Carolina party chair Jerry Meek, and North Carolina DNC member Jeanette Council.

Update #2: Hillary lost a second superdelegate to Obama today, Virginia DNC member Jennifer McClellan.

Update #3: Prominent Hillary supporter Senator Diane Feinstein is now hinting that Hillary needs to drop out, but hasn't explicitly said so yet.