I received this in an email today from one of my fellow Clark County for Edwards folks:
Earlier this afternoon I got to listen on a conference call in which John and Elizabeth Edwards personally spoke to offer their gratitude for the support they received from us and to explain what caused him to reconsider continuing the campaign. There was a bit of speculation among the peanut gallery about whether there were money issues or maybe even Elizabeth’s condition taking a turn for the worse. I can tell you that money was not an issue, JE is sitting on a major wad right now. No mention was made about Elizabeth’s health. What John did talk about was the importance of electing a Democrat this November and it became clear following the South Carolina primary that he was not going to be that Democrat in 08. John was prepared to continue the campaign through at least June during which time he could (and probably would) pick up enough delegates to prevent a clear winner for the nomination prior to the national convention in August. Meanwhile, however, the results in Florida yesterday suggest that a breakout candidate is clearly emerging on the Republican side. The stars seem to be aligning for McCain and may well win the nomination well before their convention. The concern lay with having the Republican Party united behind their nominee while the Dems were still fighting it out. The reasoning followed that in a two person race a Democratic candidate has a pretty good chance of winning the nomination relatively quickly; that was not possible with the current three-way contest. I have heard John Edwards say many times that the campaign was not about him. What he did in withdrawing today was to meet his words with deed. That he absolutely did the right thing is perhaps of dubious consolation to some right now.
[emphasis mine.]
A man who is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the party is exactly the kind of person of character we desperately need right now. I feel like I’m in the middle of The Gift of the Magi.
But, time to move on. I worry about Hillary Clinton’s ability to beat John McCain head to head. There are just too many people who have an instinctive hatred/fear of Hillary, and too many people who have the mistaken impression of John McCain as some kind of straight-talking “stateman” with foreign policy expertise. So perhaps the best use of my time, since I don’t think Obama needs any help from little old me, is to hang McCain with his own words:
Sen. John McCain told a crowd of supporters on Sunday, “It’s a tough war we’re in. It’s not going to be over right away. There’s going to be other wars.” Offering more of his increasingly bleak “straight talk,” he repeated the claim: “I’m sorry to tell you, there’s going to be other wars. We will never surrender but there will be other wars.”
At a recent meeting with the Wall Street Journal editorial board, Republican presidential candidate John McCain admitted he “doesn’t really understand economics”…
Because what the U.S. really needs right now is another president who doesn’t understand economics.
Q: President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years — ” (cut off by McCain)
McCain: “Make it a hundred.”
Q: “Is that …” (cut off)
McCain: “We’ve been in South Korea … we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me…”
There’s much more, of course - particularly concerning religious conservatives and his slavering attempts to align himself with them (after calling them “agents of intolerance” in 2000). Feel free to add your own Pander-Bear (™ Sam Seder) quotes in the comments.
Last 2 posts in 2008 Election
- thank you, jesus - May 15th, 2008
- Kudos to Martin Hash and dissent for the Nominating Convention - May 14th, 2008
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