Sen. Jay Rockefeller endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for president on Friday, calling the Illinois senator the best candidate on national security issues.

"Barack Obama is the most qualified person - Democrat or Republican - to lead our country in the face of enormous challenges: the very real threat of terrorism, economic uncertainty, and instability at home and abroad," said Rockefeller, D-W.Va. and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Gallery

[+] Enlarge

Democrat Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, eats local fare at a campaign stop at the Sombrero Festival after a Friday prayer meeting with Hispanic Evangelical ministers in Brownsville, Texas. Also Friday, Obama gained the endorsement of West Virginia’s junior senator, Jay Rockefeller.

Buy This Photo

"As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I am all too aware that the threats we face are unconventional," Rockefeller said. "They are sophisticated. They are constantly changing and adapting. And they are very serious."

West Virginia's junior senator also criticized decisions by Sen. Clinton and himself for voting to go forward with the war in Iraq.

"What matters most in the Oval Office is sound judgment and decisive action," Rockefeller said. "It's about getting it right on crucial national security questions the first time - and every time."

Obama opposed the war from the beginning, although that was before his 2004 election as a U.S. senator from Illinois.

"Sen. Rockefeller's leadership in the Senate has strengthened our national security and advanced economic opportunity, and I am honored to have his support," Obama said. "Nobody understands the unconventional threats of the 21st century better than Jay Rockefeller, and I look forward to partnering with him as president to strengthen our intelligence community and protect our homeland."

Rockefeller and others have said they felt misled by the Bush administration's handling of national security intelligence leading up to the war.

"The indisputable fact is Barack Obama was right about Iraq when many of us were wrong," Rockefeller said. "It was a tough call and the single greatest national security question, and mistake, of our time."

As a U.S. senator, Rockefeller also is a "superdelegate" to the Democratic National Convention. The Associated Press has reported that Obama has pledges of support from more than 100 delegates more than Clinton.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for president on Friday, calling the Illinois senator the best candidate on national security issues.

"Barack Obama is the most qualified person - Democrat or Republican - to lead our country in the face of enormous challenges: the very real threat of terrorism, economic uncertainty, and instability at home and abroad," said Rockefeller, D-W.Va. and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Rockefeller's endorsement comes on the heels of a new Hillary Clinton ad running in Texas where she portrays herself as the leader Americans want in a time of crisis. The two Democrats are locked in a fight for the Democratic nomination, with Tuesday primaries in Texas and Ohio expected to be close.

"As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I am all too aware that the threats we face are unconventional," Rockefeller said. "They are sophisticated. They are constantly changing and adapting. And they are very serious."

West Virginia's junior senator also criticized decisions by Sen. Clinton and himself for voting to go forward with the war in Iraq.

"What matters most in the Oval Office is sound judgment and decisive action," Rockefeller said. "It's about getting it right on crucial national security questions the first time - and every time."

Obama opposed the war from the beginning, although that was before his 2004 election as a U.S. senator from Illinois.

"Sen. Rockefeller's leadership in the Senate has strengthened our national security and advanced economic opportunity, and I am honored to have his support," Obama said. "Nobody understands the unconventional threats of the 21st century better than Jay Rockefeller, and I look forward to partnering with him as president to strengthen our intelligence community and protect our homeland."

Rockefeller and others have said they felt misled by the Bush administration's handling of national security intelligence leading up to the war.

"The indisputable fact is Barack Obama was right about Iraq when many of us were wrong," Rockefeller said. "It was a tough call and the single greatest national security question, and mistake, of our time."

As a U.S. senator, Rockefeller also is a "superdelegate" to the Democratic National Convention. The Associated Press has reported that Obama has pledges of support from more than 100 delegates more than Clinton.

So far, West Virginia's other U.S. senator, Democrat Robert C. Byrd, has refrained from endorsing either candidate. Mark Ferrell, a Byrd spokesman, said he does not expect the state's senior senator to make any endorsement before the convention.

Obama was the keynote speaker at West Virginia's 2006 Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner, the state party's major fundraising event, when Byrd was vying for re-election. Obama also helped Byrd raise money.

Rockefeller called on other Democrats to step forward and endorse the Illinois senator.

West Virginia's Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin also has not endorsed any candidate. He, too, is not expected to do so.

Former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Clinton's husband, was the keynote speaker at this year's Jefferson-Jackson Day event, accepting the invitation of Manchin.

Rockefeller and Manchin are both running for re-election this year.

Rockefeller was one of the Clintons' main allies in the early 1990s, when they tried to push through legislation to create universal health care. He has been considered a friend of the New York senator, but indicated in his statement Friday that he believes Obama will be more successful in domestic policies, also.

"I am equally proud of his commitment to rebuild America - so that we're a country of equality and prosperity - where no segment of society is left behind," Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller, born into one of the nation's best-known multi-millionaire families, noted that Obama has had to work hard to get where he is today, and there is "nothing sheltered about his life."

Obama has defeated Clinton in 11 straight primary elections or state caucuses. The latest Ohio polls conducted by Fox News showed Clinton ahead in Ohio by 46 percent to 38 percent, while, in Texas, Obama leads by 48 percent to 45 percent.

To contact staff writer Tom Searls, use e-mail or call 348-5198.