Politics / Barack Obama Robert Byrd Endorses Obama West Va. senator and former KKK member, 90, wants end to Iraq war By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff Posted May 19, 2008 4:24 PM CDT Copied Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., arrives at a town hall meeting in Billings, Mont., Monday, May 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) West Virginia's Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator ever and a former Ku Klux Klansman, today endorsed Barack Obama, calling him “a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian.” The 90-year-old, who's fourth in line for the presidency, threw his support behind Obama one week after his state voted for Hillary Clinton by a 41-point margin, the Charleston Gazette reports. (More Barack Obama stories.) Report an error