While it's true that any Democrat nominated must secure as many
crossover Republican votes as possible, if we think of government as a
large ship, what happens when all the weight is in the center?
As
long as any candidate places his, or her tonnage solely in the middle,
the ship of state must sink. That was John Kerry's problem; not willing
to go out on a limb, sticking with the tried and true — is this what it
means to be experienced? But, even more daunting for him, Kerry wasn't
a fighter. If Kerry were a fighter, he'd have held out for every last
vote to be counted, in Ohio, and we would not have had a second term of
George W. Bush who didn't even deserve a first term.
It would
be ingenuous to think, even for a minute, that only the experienced
stick with the tried and true. No one who is unprepared, or unwilling,
to take a risk belongs in the Oval Office, in the first place. George
Washington took risks, John Adams, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F.
Kennedy — even Richard Nixon took risks; not all risks are created
equal, after all.
Make no mistake, whether one likes Hillary
Clinton is beside the point just as whether one likes Barack Obama is
also beside the point, the only candidate who has stated emphatically
that he will withdraw all troops from Iraq is John Edwards. The only
candidate not beating the war drums with respect to Iran or Pakistan is
John Edwards.
Moreover, the only Democratic contender not
luxuriating in generalities and abstractions is John Edwards. And,
ultimately, the candidate, besides Dennis Kucinich, who poses the
greatest risk to the corporate lobbies, and big business in Washington,
is John Edwards. Edwards is a fighter which is what the Democratic
Party needs if it's to win the presidency in 2008. Edwards will fight
for economic equity, he will fight for the working man and woman in
this country at the expense of the corporate elite. He will see to it
that more of our sons and daughters are in college than on the front
lines of battle.
Yes, and go figure, John Edwards just happens
to be the guy the corporate media machine is intent on writing off,
trying to figure out how to siphon off his votes while they're
racheting up John McCain. Well, guess what, Winning one or two
primaries doesn't make a presidential candidate anymore than losing one
or two breaks one.
For remembering this, one needs to thank
former President Bill Clinton iwho, throughout his wife's campaign, has
often reminded us how he lost the first five primaries, and still won
the presidency to go on to become one of the most accomplished
presidents in recent history until Gingrich and Co. got their teeth
into him . No doubt, Romney and Huckabee are sharpening their fangs,
and salivating at the thought of a Clinton redux. What makes anyone
naive enough to think Hillary has a chance when she comes up against
the evangelical lobby that brought down Bill Clinton, and George H.W.
Bush before him?
Well, then, as the mainstream media would have
us believe — that leaves Barack Obama. Senator Obama needs to learn a
lot more from John Edwards about articulating a clear, and
straightforward position on domestic and foreign policy before anyone
can take him seriously enough to vote for him behind closed doors.
We've already had seven years of abstractions like "war on terror," and
"axis of evil." If Obama doesn't step forward in real time, and with
plan talk, tell us his position, in vivid detail, on all the
contentious issues like gun control, and health insurance,, you can bet
your bottom dollar his Republican counterpart will if he gets the
nomination.
Further, were Obama to get the nomination, by the
time the Republican spin masters got through with him, he'd make Noam
Chomsky look like Mike Huckabee.
As for Hillary Clinton, I think
this country has had enough of political dynasties, with the possible
exception of the Kennedys, and apart from an important thumbs up from
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,the Kennedy clan is conspicuously silent.
Ultimately,
Edwards and Obama have one thing in common: they both need to broaden
their base. Edwards has to appeal to those who drive a Lexus, as well
as the middle class; Obama has to appeal to everyone over 40.
More
importantly, it's time for the pundits, and the press, to hold off on
the eulogies, as well as divvying up any candidate's estate, or
declaring anyone down for the count until many more voices are heard,
and votes counted.
http://ladyjaynestahl.blogspot.com
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