The backstage tensions from 2004 having been seared, seared in his memory, Waffles reports for duty and duly flips the bird to Silky.

Given his track record, I’m guessing that this was the precise moment Obama “passed the global test.”

Barack Obama has won the presidential endorsement of Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats’ 2004 nominee who lost to George W. Bush.

Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, plans to announce his support Thursday at a rally at the College of Charleston, said a Democrat familiar with Kerry’s decision. The 2004 nominee will argue that Obama can best unite the country and has the potential to create transformational change, the person said.

Exit question: Will Waffles’s endorsement do as much for Obama as Gore’s endorsement in 2004 did for Howard Dean? It can’t actually … hurt, can it?

Update: Brace yourself.

For Obama, this endorsement fills a particular need: In addition to winning the nomination in 2004, Kerry is considered a strong voice on national security issues and a respected elder of the Democratic establishment.

The real benefit to Obama is coopting Kerry’s leftover fundraising network.

Update: The Pony takes the high road.

Our country and our Party are stronger because of John’s service, and I respect his decision. When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues. I continue to believe that this election is about the future, not the past, and that the country needs a President who will fight aggressively to end the status quo and change the Washington system and to give voice to all of those whose voices are ignored in the corridors of power.