THE PLANK FEBRUARY 26, 2007
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Here's John Edwards on CBS's "Face the Nation" yesterday, answering the question about why people should vote for him instead of Clinton or Obama:
I've been through this. I have the seasoning, I hope, the seasoning, the depth and the maturity that's required to do the job. Second, I think it's time to move past these incremental steps, these baby steps, and have a real and serious transformational change on some of the issues that we've talk about today. And those are the things that I'm--I'm for.
The second part of the case Edwards makes for his candidacy seems sound enough to me. But the first part--about having "been through this" and having "the seasoning"--seems like a strange argument. Is Edwards saying that because he's already been through one presidential campaign, he'd actually be a better president? Or is he making a Kerry-like "electability" appeal to Democratic primary voters that his previous campaign experience makes him a better general election candidate? I think either one of these arguments leaves something to be desired.
--Jason Zengerle
9 comments
I'd guess he's saying #1, that because he's already been through one presidential campaign, he'd actually be a better president. Not the strongest of arguments but it's a good two-fer dig at both J Crew, who'd probably get eaten alive by Giuliani, and oddly, HRC. He's almost inviting people to compare HRC's lessons learned from her national experience, which consists largely of her own (not her husband's) screw-up, with his own negative lessons learned watching Kerry's (not his) screwups. Anyway, it's still s.t. of a stretch. Edwards is likely to fade quickly if it doesn't work. He could well be far far behind even before Iowa.
- teplukhin
February 26, 2007 at 3:29pm
Edwards? Experience? As a tort lawyer, yes. As a Senator, an indifferent couple of years before he jumped ship to run for President. As a candidate for Vice President, a strident backward looking populist. What's to vote for?
- moseham
February 26, 2007 at 4:28pm
He's going to use words like "seasoning, depth and maturity" at every opportunity because he sees Barak as the biggest threat to his candidacy.
- Robert Powell
February 27, 2007 at 3:06am
There is also the point that if the Republicans had any dirt on him, they would have thrown it at him last time. His public image- like Hillary's- is pretty well-known.
- swr22
February 27, 2007 at 7:16am
say, me, to be President. As noted above, he served less than a full term in the Senate, and would have been trounced had he run again. Face it, this is a trial lawyer whose ONLY claim to political fame is that he beat Lauch Faircloth (!) by 2%, 51-49. His experience is even less than HRC's, and about the same as Obama.
- butchie b
February 27, 2007 at 11:53am
Bring on Bill Richardson. Let's give him a look, hear what the man has to say.
- teplukhin
February 27, 2007 at 12:15pm
"Seasoning" -- Edwards was mistakenly referring to his applications to be a franchisee of Bojangles or Popeyes.
- epackard
February 27, 2007 at 12:32pm
The first part ("experience") is clearly aimed at differentiating from Obama (the newbie), while the second ("transofrmational change") is aimed at differentiating from Clinton (the incrementalist). The first is a harder case to make on the facts, and comes across that way in rhetoric, but it is true that he has a solid national organization, while Obama is still building on the fly.
- ahopkins
February 27, 2007 at 1:19pm
Richardson would be a breath of fresh air after HRC, J Crew and the ambulance chaser. And more qualified than all 3 combined.
- butchie b
February 27, 2007 at 2:13pm