Obama wins Va. governor's endorsement

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IL_OBAMA_2008_ILOL-?SITE=ILKAN&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

By BOB LEWIS
AP Political Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign Saturday within sight of the former Confederate Capitol.

Obama picked up his second gubernatorial endorsement. Before Obama announced plans to run for president earlier this month, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he would back the Democrat's candidacy.

"Here we are in what was the heart of the Confederacy, and for me to be able to stand here as an African-American reflects the enormous progress that this country has made and to some degree I think represents not the perfection of the union but a whole lot of progress," Obama said at a news conference with Kaine outside Virginia's Executive Mansion. snip

Kaine's endorsement takes on additional significance in a state that has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, but where Democrats have won the past two gubernatorial races and last year's U.S. Senate race.