Is Edwards' 'Electability' Argument Working in Iowa?

Is Edwards' 'Electability' Argument Working in Iowa?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:10 PM
By Andrew Romano
Newsweek

If you ever forget that Iowa isn't Washington, D.C., driving the 50 or so miles from Omaha, Nebraska to the tiny Hawkeye State hamlet of Sidney should serve as a pretty good reminder. First it's the casinos--Harrahs, Ameristar, a riverboat, a dog track, some joint advertising a "Super Sexy Football Party." Then comes the big Bass Pro Shop. The RV center. The Cracker Barrel. The pickup hauling an armada of ATVs. And field after field of dried-up cornstalks. No politicos in sight.

(snip)

That's where electability comes in. According to his advisers, electable means "less divisive than Clinton" and "more experienced than Obama." But the D.C. types aren't buying it. As a white man claiming to have more appeal nationwide than a black man and a woman, Edwards, they say, is treading on "sensitive" ground--and it has the potential to backfire. Potential, maybe. But judging by today's "community meeting" in Sidney, it hasn't yet. Around 12:45, Edwards strode into "The Gathering Place," a small, white clapboard theater near the center of town. Bruce Springsteen's "Promised Land" was playing on the stereo. The sheriff, Steve MacDonald, had just finished reciting his introduction from a cue card ("This. Is. An. Honor..."), and twenty sullen high-school seniors slumped behind him on stage. Edwards took the mic and smiled. Over the next 30 minutes, he spoke about lobbyists, Iraq, media monopolies, pharmaceutical advertising and Hillary Clinton's "inevitability" ("Did I miss something?" he joked. "Was I asleep when y'all caucused?"). But he didn't mention the whole electable thing.

The thing was, he didn't have to. As the meeting ended, I approached Cliff and Donna Ferguson of nearby Hamburg (pop. 1,200). Cliff, a retiree, looked a like beardless, cynical Santa Claus; he was wearing a camouflage trucker hat. Donna was dressed in green sweats. After listening to Cliff rip on the "ridiculous" caucus system--"In 2004, only nine people caucused in Hamburg. And five of them were Fergusons!"--I asked why he and Donna were supporting Edwards in 2008. "Edwards is the most electable by a mile," he said. "The Republicans won't stop at nothing to tear down our side." But why Edwards and not, say, Obama? "Well, you know," he said, hesitating. "Obama's drawback is obvious. Don't get me wrong. I'm gonna vote for him if the gets the nomination. But if he does, all kinds of people will crawl out from under their rocks and throw mud. Boy, it'll be ugly. And it's the same with Hillary, 'cause she's a woman. Attacks are all they have, the Republicans. That and God and the flag." He smirked for second, then got serious. "Edwards is our best shot."

Of course, the Beltway pundits are right about one thing: John Edwards can't make that argument. But folks like the Fergusons can--and are. Sure, it may raise eyebrows in Washington. But in places like Sidney, it seem to be working.

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2007/10/24/is-edwards-s-electability-argument-working.aspx

I keep haveing the vision of Edwards having that deer in the headlights look. in a debate with a republican. the republican will say something out of his ass. and Edwards "will have to give that more thought."

You aren't making sense. It sounds like a smear, which we damned sure don't need any more of, but I'm not entirely certain.

Like Hillary, will lose the GE. Close, but still lose none the less. The repubes Prefer Hillary as the opponent. And are prepairing for Edwards also.

a repube. however I will never underestimate them again. Their rhetoric sugests they are watching the "front runners" and prepairing a file.

Edwards's electability is a tough sell. For all intents and purposes, a guy that woulda/coulda/shoulda almost became vice president should be polling better than a distant third. And when there's serious doubts he could even carry North Carolina, it's a tough sell

about a guy that "woulda/coulda/shoulda almost became vice president"?

Indeed, about this time four years ago, Lieberman was pretty high in, at least, name recognition.