Posted by Jed Lewison on Thu May 15, 2008 at 1:08 AM Pacific

Chuck Todd: Edwards' withdrawal timing helped Obama

Yesterday, Chuck Todd -- before news of the Edwards endorsement -- assessed the impact of Edwards' exit from the race and concluded:

Edwards ended up greatly helping Obama, by deciding to stay in the race after New Hampshire and then exit it before Super Tuesday

Todd's analysis focuses on South Carolina, arguing that many of the white voters who cast their ballots for Edwards would have voted for Clinton had he withdrawn from the race. Instead, Edwards stayed in the race and Obama won a 55%-27% blowout, giving him momentum heading into Super Tuesday.

The only thing I'd add to Todd's analysis is that Obama won 24% of white voters in South Carolina, which isn't bad in multi-way primary. He also got 27% of the white male vote, compared to 28% for Hillary Clinton. And perhaps most notably, Obama won 52% of white voters aged 29 and under.