From contributing blogger Alyson Klein:

Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia endorsed Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois today. Byrd oversees the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, so he’ll be working closely with the next president (whoever that may be) on education spending. At this point in the race, the endorsement is mostly meaningful in that it puts another superdelegate into Obama’s column.

Still, looking much further down the road, the endorsement could be a positive sign for relations between the appropriations committee and the White House under an Obama administration. That could only help the bottom-line for programs that Obama has championed on the campaign trail, such as improving teacher preparation.