Wednesday, May 14, 2008


Edwards Endorses Obama; Now For Some VP Speculation

The timing of the endorsement was either fortuitous or great planning, a maul used to blunt momentum from the Clinton victory, their largest margin yet, in West Virginia last night. (Where Edwards got 7% of the vote.) Edwards supplies 18 regular delegates to the Obama numbers, which would put him over 1,900 total and within ten of a simple regular-delegate majority of 1,627. The important psychological delegate number is 2,000, not 2,026, and Obama now only has to get 30% of the remaining uncommitted pool. You always have to wonder what price was paid, and the VP slot would seem a little steep. A Cabinet position would be reasonable, and Edwards would be the most progressive Attorney General imaginable.

Now the winnowing process begins for the running mate. Senator Jim Webb of Virginia (retired Navy Commander, son served two tours in Iraq, took seat away from a Republican incumbent) offers a great suite of gap-fillers. But he's a first-termer from Congress. Ohio's governor Ted Strickland has been bandied about because he closes all the obvious gaps--he now runs a key state that has trended Republican, is moderate, well-respected, over 60, white and got an 'A' rating from the National Rifle Association. But he's a Clinton supporter, which may discount him, and also a first-termer, which doesn't help the inexperience angle.

So, looking down the list of Democratic state governors, there aren't many that fit the bill as nicely as Tennessee's Phil Bredeson. He brings everything Strickland does and a boatload more: he started Health America, which became a 6,000-employee publicly traded health care management company; he is noted for spending wisely on education programs; he's a Presbyterian from smack dab in the demographic and region Obama has struggled in; he won his last gubernatorial election 69-30; and he does not draw his gubernatorial salary. He's a small-town boy from Appalachia made good with the credibility, physics degree, contacts, and drive to take on the health care mess.

4 comments:

Naj said...

Only if Edwards didn't sing the praises of that mass criminal woman, I would have been happier.
I am happy nonetheless!

MarcLord said...

Being a politician means having to say political things. There is a "heal the party" attempt that's going on, one which will probably fail (my guess). The Democratic Party needs to move on from being the jackass party, and that would seem to mean leaving the Clintons behind. If Obama chooses Clinton as VP, it's signing his own death sentence. I hope he's smart enough to know that.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was also "good timing" for Hamas to endorse the O man. Welcome to the Planet Earth MarcLord.

Naj said...

MarcLord, I cannot agree more.

In reference to Zoey's comment; I think if Obama's clever he can ride the "Hamas Endorsement" wave easily by saying:

Look, I am the only one candidate that hte "enemies" of the US (haahaaa) are willing to sit at a table with; and I am the only one that is credible enough to project peace!

If Obama's about change, then as Marc says, he first has to change the Jackassism of the Democratic Party. And I don't really know what is the deal with Clinton"S" ... there was one President named Bill Clinton, whose wife happened to be a loudmouth Lawyer, who happened to become a Senator; and they have one child! I really wish Americans gave up this dynasty-envy; it's so unbecoming!