Berkley gets phone call, supports Obama as Democratic nominee

WASHINGTON -- Eight days after saying she would not endorse Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee until he called her, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., got the phone call.

Almost immediately after her seven-minute conversation with Obama, D-Ill., on Friday, Berkley announced her endorsement.

"I feel ready, willing and able to roll up my sleeves and campaign for and with him in Nevada," Berkley said.

The five-term congresswoman, who endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in January during the Nevada caucus, said she is "more than satisfied" Obama will oppose government efforts to open a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"He didn't say how he would stop it. He just said he is opposed to storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. He was unequivocal in saying that has always been his position," Berkley said.

Berkley said she and Obama also discussed the Middle East and issues including veterans benefits, Social Security, Medicare, mortgage foreclosures and gasoline prices.

Berkley said she is more enthusiastic about Obama than previous Democratic presidential nominees John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000.

"People are hungry for change, and I think they sense this going to be a historic election," Berkley said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., endorsed Obama on June 6, but Berkley said she had an obligation to her constituents to delay her endorsement until after she talked to the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"We needed assurances from our nominee so I could not only campaign for him with a clear conscience but I could tell my constituents what he will do," Berkley said.