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| Vaya Con Dios, John Edwards (and Elizabeth, too) |
| 2008-01-30 |
| Jim Geraghty, National Review We awake to the news that John Edwards is departing the presidential race. A couple of quick reactions. 1) Tomorrow night’s one-on-one debate between Hillary and Obama is the Super Bowl for Democrats. This is actually probably a bit more pressure on Obama. You know Hillary’s going to throw everything including the kitchen sink at him, and the Illinois Senator won’t be able to get any support from Edwards. 2) Once again, the idiosyncrasy of Iowa is revealed. Edwards virtually moved there, got second place, and hasn’t really been close to second anywhere ever since. 3) I have a theory that the more comfortable the living position of a lefty columnist is, the more they like politicians who denounce the rich. We periodically heard about how John Edwards was “tapping into something” on the campaign trail. Edwards reminded us of the little girl with no coat a million times, he referred to his father working in a mill the way some people use commas, and he ran the most explicitly populist campaign in a generation, in an era of an unpopular war, great economic change from globalization, a subprime mortgage crisis, and just as the race was heating up, signs that we’re heading into a recession… and he finished with no wins, one second place finish, a smattering of delegates (26 according to CNN), scraping by 17 percent here, 18 percent there. Populism may sell in Iowa, but it just doesn’t sell very well everywhere else. This would also explain the deflation of Huckabee. 4) As much as we may grind our teeth in response to Edwards’ economic snake oil, and mock other characteristics (the YouTube hair fussiness, the giant house, the work for a hedge fund to “learn about poverty”, the exorbitant speaking fees, the $400 haircut)… he’s a man with a family, who soldiered on into an exhausting effort, at the urging of his wife who’s taking on cancer that may end her life. Elizabeth’s cancer didn’t turn into a political prop, and there was something inspiring in the way that this couple treated the worst possible news one could imagine as a minor impediment to what they saw as the mission of their lives. Some of us are left wondering if we would be able to fight on the way they did if tragedy struck our lives in the same way. Keep this man far away from elected office – and keep an eye on the rumor that Obama would make him Attorney General – but wish him and his family well as they continue on life’s path ahead. 5) Finally, a moment of snark: I guess the Politico’s reporting about his departure from the race wasn’t wrong, just way, way, way ahead of the curve. |
| Posted by:Mike |