John Edwards met with Hillary Clinton late last week, and he was scheduled to meet with Barack Obama today, but the meeting was postponed.
If I were advising Edwards, I honestly don't know what I would tell him. I see the logic of not endorsing, endorsing Obama, or endorsing Clinton.
If he's going to endorse, I would think it would have to come before the big primaries on March 4.
What do you think he will do? Take the poll and explain your choice in the comments, if you like.
7 Comments
Endorse Clinton
For two reasons, one policy and one political:
1) universal healthcare
2) Clinton needs him right now more than Obama which means if she wins, she’ll owe him more than Obama would. It’s true Obama is probably the frontrunner now, but that makes him need Edwards less. The less you’re needed, the less power you have even if your guy wins. As it stands now, Edwards would have to stand in line behind Ted Kennedy for Obama’s ear on healthcare.
socaldem Tue 12 Feb 12:15 AM
there is a logic to that
If he stands on the sidelines, no one will owe him anything.
If he comes out for Obama when Obama has the momentum, Obama won’t owe him much.
If he comes out for Clinton and she manages to turn things around, he will have more leverage.
And yes, Obama’s stand and rhetoric on health care must be a big concern to Edwards.
desmoinesdem Tue 12 Feb 7:22 AM
Mum is the word
Edwards best bet is to stay neutral and have the candidates keep coming to him, so he can pitch his progressive agenda.
To be honest, after building a campaign that railed against the Clintonian establishment and the D.C. corporate machine, Edwards will lose ALL credibility with me if he endorses the corporate candidate, Hillary Clinton.
tmlindsey Tue 12 Feb 6:56 AM
I know people who agree with you
in the camp of Edwards supporters. The fact that Edwards rarely, if ever, criticized Obama publicly would make it “easier” for him to endorse Obama or at least stay neutral.
The problem is, many Edwards supporters have come to believe over the past six months to a year that Obama would be as much of a corporate candidate as Hillary. The corporate media’s warm embrace of Obama is part of the reason, along with Obama’s demagoguing against universal health care as government-run, government making choices for you, etc.
Obama talks so much about consensus and bringing everyone to the table, and that makes people like me worry that he is going to get rolled by the opposition if he is elected.
Clinton knows that the Republicans are going to fight her every day if she is president, but Obama still thinks he can find a compromise solution that will bring many Republicans on board. That looks naive to me and many other Edwards supporters.
On a different discussion board, many of the prominent Edwards supporters from Daily Kos and MyDD have been talking about this. Some of them prefer Obama, some prefer Clinton, and some plan to accept whoever Edwards endorses, on the grounds that we have to assume he will go with whoever promises him more in private discussions.
desmoinesdem Tue 12 Feb 7:20 AM
Neither
John Edwards is one of the best-known Democrats in the nation. He’ll almost certainly be on the stump asking us to vote for either Clinton or Obama in November, and if he’s not on the short list to be VP for either candidate, he’s likely on the short list for several high profile appointed positions. Why would he take a chance on screwing that up?
klsnow Tue 12 Feb 10:34 AM
Date both...marry neither
Exactly right. I doubt he’ll endorse either candidate. I suspect however, he’s a lot closer to Obama than Clinton on a personal level though.
american007 Tue 12 Feb 2:35 PM
Endorse Obama
From what I have read and the interactions I’ve seen of him with Obama and Clinton, the only way he would back Clinton is if she did huge favors for him that Obama would refuse to match. I can’t imagine Obama not matching any Clinton offer, so it seems unlikely to me that he would endorse her for that reason.
It basically comes down to whether Edwards wants to be a part of the future Democratic Party or a part of what he called, the “status quo”. I don’t see how he would endorse the latter when he showed how much he believes Obama provides the former. He is better off endorsing the legitimate change candidate and furthering his policy agenda within that candidate’s administration. He would probably be more successful in an Obama administration, as well.
I disagree on who needs the endorsement more. Obama needs Edwards’ endorsement more than Clinton. Edwards has a strong lower-middle class base and Obama is somewhat weaker than Clinton in that area. An Edwards endorsement prior to March 4th gives Obama a huge potential boost in that area, possibly effecting wins or too-close-to-calls that in addition to his February momentum help him remain in the delegate lead.
But, there is no way to tell how negotiations with either candidate will go. Since he would like something in return, it really depends on what he wants. He probably found a compromise with Clinton and will use that to negotiate with Obama. However, if he makes demands the candidates perceive as unrealistic, then he will continue to hold out. The longer he waits, though, the less effectual his endorsement becomes.
drinksgreentea Tue 12 Feb 3:37 PM