The Edwards in the Room

By: TJHalva | Comments [0] | Category: John Edwards | 5/15/2008 3:05:35 PM CT

Now that Obama has the deal sealed, the media has started to focus more time on his potential Vice President (VP but not Veep, because that's the stupidest abbreviation ever). The talking heads keep throwing out this idea of a joint ticket with Hillary; but then somebody from the panel gets wise and says "Well gee, Hillary doesn't really have anything to offer except her blue collar support," which then leaves the topic in limbo. After John's endorsement yesterday he becomes the obvious choice, but nobody wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room. He carried the largest percentage of blue collar support while he was still in the race and would add a key element, as would Hillary in the drive to win states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. The superlative point however is that John Edwards could also give a significant boost to Obama in the crucial swing state of North Carolina, and to a lesser degree South Carolina, while Clinton's home state of New York remains a non-factor. Not only does Edwards offer a key demographic, a pivotal swing state, but he is also the cliche white male. That third fact is irrelevant to states like Minnesota and Washington, but in the bible belt it may very well be the key to winning, or at least forcing McCain to spend in states like West Virginia and Kentucky where the population has clearly demonstrated they don't feel comfortable voting for a black man. Edwards appears to remedy these problems.

What more could you ask for? Edwards has a loyal group of supporters, experience running a high stakes campaign, a sound fundraising base and a crucial demographic. The only downside lies in his general lack of military and foreign policy experience. However this minor blemish could be overshadowed by preemptively agreeing to name Jim Webb (Senator Virginia) as the Secretary of Defense, and Joe Biden (Senator Delaware) as the Secretary of State; the two most knowledgeable Democrats in the country on the respective issues, thus effectively erasing Edwards' negatives. John Edwards completes the ticket, he offers a complementary view of the issues that aligns with Obama's message while at the same time targeting key demographics Obama has not yet been able to reach.

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.