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March 29, 2008

Scuttlebutt: Why John Edwards hasn't endorsed

AP
Democratic presidential candidates former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama before the presidential debate at St. Anselm's College in Manchester, N.H., June 3, 2007.

I've been curious about why John Edwards hasn't endorsed anyone yet, as was expected. Shortly after he suspended his campaign on Jan. 30, rumors that he would endorse Obama were rife; more recently, rumors have him endorsing Hillary. None of the rumors had any background or source attached. This is the first inkling of what might have gone on to cause the flip that hasn't actually happened.

From John Heilemann in New York Magazine Who’ll Stop the Pain?:

According to a Democratic strategist unaligned with any campaign but with knowledge of the situation gleaned from all three camps, the answer is simple: Obama blew it. Speaking to Edwards on the day he exited the race, Obama came across as glib and aloof. His response to Edwards’s imprecations that he make poverty a central part of his agenda was shallow, perfunctory, pat. Clinton, by contrast, engaged Edwards in a lengthy policy discussion. Her affect was solicitous and respectful. When Clinton met Edwards face-to-face in North Carolina ten days later, her approach continued to impress; she even made headway with Elizabeth. Whereas in his Edwards sit-down, Obama dug himself in deeper, getting into a fight with Elizabeth about health care, insisting that his plan is universal (a position she considers a crock), high-handedly criticizing Clinton’s plan (and by extension Edwards’s) for its insurance mandate.

The thrust of the piece, however, is the currently fashionable drumbeat to get Hillary to drop out. (Wackier still is the hypothetical notion that she is merely staying in to position herself for 2012. Does anyone seriously believe that at age 65 she would want to go through all this again?)

In the interest of balance, here's Matt Cooper -- the same Matt Cooper, then of Time magazine, who was called to testify about the Valerie Plame leak, husband of Clinton media consultant Mandy Grunwald who nevertheless believes Obama will be the nominee -- writing at Portfolio.com: Hillary Should Stay In. So Should Nader.

And just to round out the balance, Ralph Nader to Hillary yesterday: Don’t listen to Senator Leahy:

Senator Clinton:

Just read where Senator Patrick Leahy is calling on you to drop out of the Presidential race.

Believe me.

I know something about this.

Here’s my advice:

Don’t listen to people when they tell you not to run anymore.

That’s just political bigotry.

Listen to your own inner citizen First Amendment voice.

This is America.

Just like every other citizen, you have a right to run.

Whenever you like.

For as long as you like.

It’s up to you, Hillary.

Just tell them –

It’s democracy.

Get used to it.

Yours truly,

Ralph Nader

Nader -- darn him -- often makes sense.

The coronation of the relatively unknown Sen. Barack Obama makes me a bit uncomfortable. So do the pundits urging Hillary to quit, mouthing Obama campaign talking points despite the journalistic discipline that requires that one not become a partisan. We are trained to be objective, not to be swept away; our permitted passions are reality and truth.

It's equally disturbing when "analysts" get mushy about the possibility of the first black president, seeming to ignore the parallel and equally historic possibility of the first woman president. 1972 Democratic candidate George McGovern told AP this week,, "I have a feeling that in this country where we’re at today in our thinking, it’s going to be harder to elect a woman than to elect a black man." It's hard to know whether MSM is leading or following that notion, and to what degree the old-boy networks and glass ceilings inside journalism lead or follow it as well.

But this is not a beauty contest, American Idol or The Gong Show. It's an opportunity to collaboratively plan the future, with all ideas still on the table.

It's in the interest of the voters that the Democratic nominee earn the nod over the long haul, refining and sharing plans to meet the changing challenges of the economy, Iraq, health care, the environment, terrorism -- and along the way engaging America in their solution.

The candidate who faces the world as the face of America would best do so having learned the lessons a long campaign can deliver: Patience, endurance and an understanding that there are no short cuts to one's place in history.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 9:43 AM | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: Liz Donovan on March 29, 2008 11:09 AM

Posted by: James Outsider on March 29, 2008 11:45 AM

Posted by: Joyce Vermaak on March 29, 2008 7:59 PM

Posted by: michael vocino on March 30, 2008 8:33 AM