Ravenwood - 07/06/04 09:00 AM
After being rejected by Republican Senator John McCain, John Kerry selected retiring Senator and former personal injury lawyer John Edwards as his Vice Presidential running mate. Edwards is an interesting choice, if for no other reason than Kerry's own statements about not needing the South to win. Perhaps he's having second thoughts.
I also find it hilarious that next to John Kerry, a former ambulance chaser is considered likeable.
On the surface, Edwards seems like a good choice, but I disagree for several reasons. Personally, I don't think anybody votes for Vice President. The Veep candidate didn't help Mondale nor did it hurt Bush 41. Historically, having a good running mate just has not made that much of a difference. But for those who say it will make a difference, here is why they are wrong.
First of all, although he appears to be a nice guy on the surface I think Edwards has too much dirty laundry. His sleazy relationships and lawyerly like ways will come back to bite him. Vice President Dick Cheney has been under constant assault from the left for his ties to Halliburton and "big oil". Whether or not it has hurt him is a matter for debate, but look for similar mudslinging to be aimed at Edwards. His former violation of the campaign finance laws don't help much either.
Second, the fact that he's a rich lawyer made his fortune chasing ambulances hardly brings the Kerry ticket closer to the people. Most of his contributions during the primaries came from fellow trial lawyers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it doesn't bode well for his "likeability factor".
Third, he's way too young. This doesn't have so much to do with voters as it does with the Clintons. A Kerry-Edwards win in 2004 would set up a Kerry-Edwards win in 2008 and an Edwards run at the presidency in 2012. Where does that leave Hillary Clinton? Many pundits think that Clinton will try to torpedo Kerry's run at the presidency, and picking Edwards as his running mate would seem to bolster their view.
I'm sure the addition of Edwards will give Kerry a short term boost in the polls. But the election is still months away and there is plenty of campaigning to be done. Just like the luster has worn off Kerry, so too will it wear from John Edwards.
What annoyed me about Edwards was his whole "Two Americas" schtick. Just what does that mean, anyway? He must be living in the Good America, seeing as how he went from poor nobody to millionaire Senator.
Posted by: Thibodeaux at July 6, 2004 1:16 PMRush made the comment that Veeps are picked for two reasons (at least, when they're successful):
1-to deliver their home state; see LBJ in '60. If Kerry was trying to do this, he would have been better off picking Graham or Nelson from FL, or someone high profile from PA. NC will probably go Bush even with Edwards on the ticket.
2-to unite the party; see GHWB in '80. I don't know enough about Edwards to know if this is something to placate the DLC wing or not. Lieberman might have been a better choice for that, but I doubt he'd want to play second fiddle again, plus his support for the Iraq war and Israel gives the moonbat wing hissy fits.
Posted by: Heartless Libertarian at July 6, 2004 6:43 PMKerry picked Edwards for one reason. Self preservation. He knew damned well if he'd chosen Hillary to run as his VP he'd be dead before his first 100 days in office.
Posted by: Ralph Gizzip at July 7, 2004 10:53 AM3. So they don't dare impeach you until they've managed to nail the veep for something or other. (Nixon/Agnew)
Posted by: markm at July 10, 2004 7:56 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
