John Edwards is no longer running for President. He is merely a stalking horse for Barack Obama.

http://www.talkleft.com/

"Now for the life of me, I do not understand John Edwards' thinking here. In what scenario does he win the nomination by pumping up Barack Obama? Harold Meyerson said Edwards helped Obama and himself. How is that possible? There can be only one nominee! Obama is the frontrunner and will be a bigger one if he wins New Hampshire. And then Edwards runs as a change candidate against Obama? Okaaay.

I can reach only one conclusion - John Edwards is no longer running for President. He is merely a stalking horse for Barack Obama".
"

better than his chances against Clinton.

Maybe he believes that, if CLinton were out of the race, most would-be Clinton supporters would go Edwards, not Obama. But if Obama went out, most of his supporters would go Clinton.

And of course he IS closer to Obama than Hill philosophically.

As long as there are 3 in the race, the press will continue to ignore Edwards. Only if he's one of 2 will he get any coverage at all. I think the game is to badly weaken Hillary in NH so he can get some face time on the tube and do some wholesale marketing of himself before Feb 5 Super Tuesday.

I know many folks would say I've got it backward. But either way, does anybody think this is even a remote possibility.

I ask because, at about the 9:30 point last night, when JE launched his counterattack against Hills, locking arms with Obama, the comment thread at DailyKos, like, lit up with "Obama/Edwards" and "Edwards/Obama," prompting a whole little side-discussion about who should top the ticket. (Edwards supporters seem to be a majority over there.)

A couple of years ago, the first time I heard Obama speak, I thought an Edwards/Obama ticket would be an unstoppable force of nature. The landscape is a lot different now.

I can't abide that hypocrite.

Says one thing now, did quite another as a DLCer in the Senate.

.

or as I like to call it, the To Hell With Whitey ticket. :)


By the way, welcome to DU! :toast:

He really has no more experience than Obama. Also, I assume that the lack of praise from Kerry for Edwards and more importantly Obams's comments on 2004 - such as saying that he was not comfortable saying "help is on the way" - so he didn't - will and should hurt him.

Kerry chose him, which you could say was a bad choice on his part, but I seriously doubt that anyone could have predicted in late spring, that Edwards would be such a prima donna. Any nominee should at least be able to count on the vp nominee to use the campaign's slogan. Especially as Kerry DID use it in the primaries - and no amount of spin can erase that Kerry soundly beat Edwards with that slogan. That example was from a JRE quote - and it all by itself gives credibility to comments from Kerry 2004 staffers, who started speaking out only after Kerry himelf decided not to run.

would be an unstoppable ticket.

Drops out after South Carolina and endorses Obama and then is VP until 2016 when he wins the Presidency.

Did you see the handshake-backslap last night afterwards by Obama to Edwards??

With Obama's charisma and appeal to youth and Edwards know-how and experience.

That just goes to show that despite all the trash talk, Dem haters and Repug haters a like, fear Clinton the most.

I don't think he's sure he can beat either of them. He probably just likes his chances better against Obama. And I don't think it necessarily has anything to do with "haters." It's just a cold political calculation, nothing more or less.

Edwards possesses the necessary skill set that makes him Best Equipped to DELIVER MEANINGFUL CHANGE ONCE ELECTED! Obama will be sliced and diced in a very nice way by John Edwards, the Master of his craft.

Hillary goes down first then it's the Consensus All Pro and Hall of Famer Vs The High School Kid! Very Simple calculation, and is standard for WINNING multi- candidate debates and races like a presidential primary. :)

making a 2-man race of it.

He really needed to win Iowa, and shot his wad there.

He's in third place almost everywhere else, according to the polls, and hasn't got a chance for the nomination, IMO.

If he drops out before Feb 5, Obama is in as the nominee, since Edwards' supporters are more likely to go to Obama rather than Clinton for that day of the big primaries.

If he holds on until Feb. 6, there's a real horse race between Clinton and Obama.

Especially since its John Edwards who consistently beats EVERY Republican in all the polls.

And since it's John Edwards who isn't tied to the lobbyists and big corporations like the others. Do you think Barack Obama is really going to bring about the change he promises with all his indebtedness to the big corps? Not on your life.

Barack will be more of the same: ties to lobbyists, big business calling the shots, calling in their favors for campaign donations.

Barack is just talking about change because he knows it's what everyone wants, but when you follow the money, it's easy to see it will be more of the same with Barack. He can't cut the ties to big business money, and he won't be able to cut the ties to them in the White House, either.

If you like things the way they are now, you'll keep the status quo with Obama.

If there is no chance, he plays nice and ha a bright future!

By knocking down Hillary and propping up Obama he's going to give Obama an even bigger win, which will surely give Obama the nomination.

Hillary has the downward momentum. Edwards doesn't have the support to go forever. He polls a distant 3rd in about every state from here on out. I know that most DUers are rooting for Edwards, but lets be realistic here.

He should have prefaced his attack on Hillary with something about Obama as well.

I like Edwards well enough, but about half of the things he said last night seemed to have come right from the Obama camp.

Obama started literally "parroting" Edwards in Iowa ("from your GUT, etc...") and has continued in New Hampshire. (not that I disagree as it is the sincerest form of flattery)... *GRIN*

I mean, Obama isn't fresh or new with the whole "change" message. I laughed out loud at his HOPE title for a book because Bill Clinton used that word.

There are only so many cliches, I guess.

Still, I thought Obama looked weak and less articulate last night.

:smoke:

Strategically, it would make more sense for him - that is help his campaign more if HRC won NH. I have said this before. If Clinton wins NH, there is no clear front runner going into SC and NV. Now, there is no way Edwards will win NH. However, I believe he has a chance in SC. Yes, I know Democrats have a large African American voting block, but the African American community likes Clinton too. So, their vote will be divided. Edwards is likely to do well with white males. It may be enough. Even if he loses SC, he just has to do well.

In any case, if going into Super Tuesday there is no clear front runner, Edwards has a chance. OTOH, if Obama is the front runner on Feb 5, Edwards has no shot at all.

He wants to show the difference between him and Obama.

He is like a Indy 500 race car driver......waiting and timing his moves.

Even if Edwards places second in a primary or two - he's got no chance of the nomination, IMO.

What primaries will Edwards win????? (My answer: none)

"uncommitted" in Mich.

If it comes down to the "two" candidates of change, then his chance's go way up. Right now it's still to early to pick the nominee. If it gets down to a two person race, the odds get better for Edwards.

Funny thing is that I hear all the "Edwards and Obama" attacked Hillary stuff, but on TV this morning I heard it was "Edwards and Hillary" attacking Obama. Go figure!

NO SALE.

They are as bad as Taylor Marsh.

John Edwards spoke the truth, he was IS a candidate of change, so is Obama, Hillary is old=school triangulating, progressive knocking nonsense.

As Edwards campaign said...9:43 the END of the Clinton Era


GOOD RIDDANCE

and I think Edwards wants to slam the door, making it a 2-way race. Richardson did try to bait Edwards a couple times, also. So there's strategy being played out. Edwards' biggest problem is Obama's magnetism with the crowds, which won't change soon. But I'm sure there are people at work trying to dig up dirt which could change things. Remember Gary Hart? But I wouldn't look to see it coming from Edwards' group, but maybe Clinton, or the usual Repub mud machine.

1) Always go after the person in front of you.
2) If it is he and Obama, anything can happen, O may self-destruct, and he would be the one standing.
3) If he loses, this puts him a the #2 man in the democratic party. VP maybe, bright future definitely.
4) The point, HRC has no where to go after NH, JE does and he is being smart about it.

The only question: will he give up before Feb 5 - giving the nomination to Obama (his followers are much more likely to vote for Obama than Clinton)? Or will he hold on until Feb 6, resulting in a cliffhanger between Clinton and Obama?

http://www.pollster.com/

I think he may be pushing for a cabinet position in the Obama administration if he drops out before Feb 5. (speculation, of course.)

All he did was energize women, and Obama still looks great. I predict Edwards will come in a distant third now.

Sometimes we all get so caught up in tactics and strategy, that we overlook another distinct possibility. He might have just been calling it as he sees it.

Edwards might have simply been speaking from his gut. He does see himself as a "change" candidate, and he also sees Obama as a "change candidate and he does see Hillary as the "status quo."

He is a very smart man. He wants to align himself with the candidate who is most like himself. Both he and Obama are change agents. They disagree on how to make that change and also on some of the issues. If he isn't in the race, he will definitely support Obama over Clinton because in spite of these disagreements, he will see Obama as the only remaining candidate who he can stomach.

But...it isn't over yet. His voice needs to be heard for a long time. The middle class needs this voice. HE is the one who has framed this campaign from the beginning.

Merely walked into a spinning propeller. Edwards is running the classic tortoise and the Hare race... :) Just have to stay in long enough until Obama starts being legitimately scrutinized. Once that happens, He's toast!

agree and it turns my stomach to watch the boys gang bang a woman! I have just about had it with that routine.

You Work on Who Remains. Excellent Strategy by John Edwards!

I'll Take an Edwards vs Obama MANO y mano... ANY day. Let Hillary crap the bed in New Hampshire.


It was Officially deemed a two man race at 9:34 PM last night. Two candidates who represent CHANGE and one candidate who represents THE PAST!

The question after Hillary Officially BAILS will be...


WHO CAN BEST BRING ABOUT THAT CHANGE... John Edwards or Barack Obama? You tell me WHO can BEST execute MEANINGFUL CHANGE?

My very well thought out answer IS... John Edwards :)

her votes between them. In actuality, Edwards is the weak one...sort of the southbound end of a northbound horse.

This is the time for Hillary to show what she really has in experience and knowledge and squeeze Edwards out. A likely scenerio. Particularly since the 'boys' started the game.

Lots of miles to travel...likely to be just two survivors toward the end. Obama is a bonecrusher speaker, both the buzz phrases and the delivery, but standing on his own feet and ad libbing, he loses a lot.

Hillary is the most knowledgable and knows the answers to most of the questions that will be asked. She is major problems for Obama.

***Had Iowa not knocked Biden and Dodd out of contention, their presence would have prevented this tag team possibility.

Right now, the fight is between Obama and Clinton.