Turn on your tee-vee if you want to see John Edwards endorse Barack Obama in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Why Grand Rapids?
Gotta show some love to the Mitten state.
Works for me. I’m a Wolverine fan. Go Blue!
just heard…it’s about time.
it is apparently sans elizabeth’s approval according to AP.
be interesting to see where his 19 delegates go.
I’m kinda worried about this. She sounds like she can’t stand Obama, and can’t see any kind of compromise with him and health care.
We’ll just see.
I don’t get that she cannot stand Obama. She disagrees with his health plan.
I read that Obama and Elizabeth actually had a shouting match about his health care plan. Everyone’s going to be parsing any statement from her extra-closely. It’s kind of interesting.
…this I don’t get. Of course, we’ve not experienced the snooty Obama yet either.
…are often code words for “uppity”
The guy is a private person. Read his book and you’ll understand him more. People often mistake private people for being aloof or cold, when they’re really just introspective.
Who wrote that?
By the way, I’m still waiting to see how any legislation that mandates that a citizen must buy private health insurance from a private company is constitutional. Do I get to vote on who’s on the board of Humana? If not, it sounds like taxation without representation.
Better to go straight to a single-payer. You pay the government, the government hands out the payment to the providers, the insurance companies invest in oil.
I, for one, don’t give two shits what Elizabeth Edwards thinks or says. Why? When has she held an office? When has anything she’s done impacted legislation? She’s nothing but a more higher profile nobody like me. She ranked as Reason #2 on my list of Why I Won’t Ever Vote for John Edwards. The thing that’s funny to me, is that it seems that Bill Clinton’s turned into Elizabeth Edwards on the stump after the Potomac Primaries. Yet, she’s given unwarranted deference and he’s called crazy. I think they’re both nuts.
I think they are both nuts too. For a long time I thought I was the only one who thought Elizabeth … had problems.
off topic: lots of people are saying nice things about you in this thread. Someone else probably already told you, but just in case they didn’t …
What – no one misses getmeoutofdixie?
I can’t wait for one ex-friend in particular to flip out over this. She was hardcore Edwards, but thought for sure Edwards was supporting Clinton. Hee-hooooh!!!
two biggies today and two surprises for Clinton:
NARAL Endorses Obama — Hillary Spokesperson Is “Surprised”
And the Emily’s List people don’t like it, for sure. “It’ll hurt Hillary’s feelings…”, etc.
I had pretty much the same argument with a friend! Except this guy’s still a friend. dammit. I already hear people chattering about Obama/Edwards ’08. Again. This is gonna give Hillary a migraine.
Edwards said recently that he does not want to run as VP ever again, so I think that’s out. But he may have a cabinet position in mind. Maybe a new cabinet position both Hillary and Barack have talked about creating – one aimed at reducing poverty. Who knows what they’d call it.
now THAT would give a lot of people headaches.
They are furious and bitter.
How much could they have supported him to turn on him like they are?
I think there are quite a few former-Edwards-now-Hillary supporters who were sure Edwards was backing her who’ve gotten an unwelcome surprise today.
…Like the gang at Correntewire. I haven’t gone over there to see how they’re taking it. Those Hillary-worship sites creep me out.
They are a bit creepy…and even worse is when I see old familiar names over there screaming the F-word, cursing Edwards, and vowing to vote McCain over this.
And the hysteria over Obama mistakenly calling someone sweetie from people who are swearing to vote for a man who calls his wife a trollop and a c-word…it defies common sense.
We missed the sweetie business. What happened?
Here you go.
More minutiae…
I will say most of the Edwards supporters around here switched to Obama..Thank goodness.
Yup! And I’m delighted Edwards finally caught up with his supporters.
I am so thrilled!!!!! Now we just need Gore to endorse and close this mess.
John Edwards’ endorsement, coming so late to the wagon, is a message in and of itself – Obama’s success is even more stunning.
Obama became the presumptive nominee without the two big hunchos’ endorsement that pundits claimed he needed.
Great.
Edwards said he did this today to help the unifying progress. He thinks it’s time we all get behind Obama. He liked him but didn’t know if he had the experience, if he was electable. Well, he was electable in the majority of contests so far – that’s good enough for him and me both.
Yes . . . and the Gore endorsement needs to be rolled out in FLORIDA!!!!!
Why is Edwards going on and on about Hillary?
It was painful when the audience booed.
But when they listened he did have a lot to say and as much as some might hate to admit it. Hillary has done a lot of good but Barack Obama is the person we need to be our next president.
Cee, had the same response to that reaction. But thought Edwards handled it well, moving the audience with him &c. Saying what he thought needed to be said.
Nice – “… one America, not two. And that man is Barack Obama!”
I wish I had a TV! Is this streaming on the tubes, anyone?
Yes
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/14/edwards.obama/index.html
top of the page click on watch live.
Moving to CSPAN-3 to hear Obama – networks stopped covering.
Someone fainted in the crowd and Barack brought everyone’s attention to it and also threw his bottle of water out to someone to give the person water.
He did that at a rally in Seattle too, which I thought was tres cool.
Edwards endorsing Obama?
He’s just trolling for VP. He thinks that because he’s white and came up working class in the south he can pull the votes that HRC has been pulling.
Let’s hope Obama is smarter than that.
Edwards is wrong. The people being referenced will see through him, his unused work clothes AND his haircut and vote for McCain in a heartbeat. Unlike Hater Ed’s take, I think that those people…my relatives in old-time working class Long Island and rural Maine, people I know REALLY well…are smart in a country sort of way.
They kin tell a faker a mile off, and they don’t very much like ’em, neither.
Bet on it.
AG
Edwards role in this, IMO, is to blunt the “Unity Ticket” madness – offering up a different narrative about the VP. It by no means obligates Obama to pick him, but it’s something that the media can explore as a different option to unify the party, destroying the argument that Hillary is the only VP choice that would unify the party.
That frees Obama to choose neither Clinton nor Edwards…
Edwards doesn’t want VP. Not sure if he could help the ticket anyway.
Still, it would be nice to have some of his delegates announce for Obama.
Edwards doesn’t want VP?
You think not?
On what evidence?
The timing of this endorsement is PERFECT.
White southern so-called working class boy in place of HRC.
What could be more obvious?
AG
Reuters April 3, 2008 headline: John Edwards says would not accept VP nomination
On what evidence?
Ever.
AG
. . . I thought you were answering your own question by implying that Edwards wants to be the next AG– Attorney General! And that may well be true.
Let us pray.
I personally think that Edwards could lose it for Obama.
AG
I don’t think he’d lose it for him, but I don’t think he gets Obama anything that Kaine, Sebelius or Richardson couldn’t get him.
If he helps Obama to get away from the amazingly stupid idea of a unity ticket with the Nut Case, then it will be an endorsement well worth the effort.
Regionally, I don’t see how Edwards would bring much that those other Veep candidates could. However, Edwards is great on the stump. He has broad popularity. Now it’s possible he could lend those qualities to the general election campaign for Obama even if he’s not on the ticket.
If the ticket were Obama-Edwards and I were a GOP strategist then I would create a series of ads asking, “Where’s the beef?” That attacks their (relative) youth and inexperience – and alludes to their relatively thin frames (somewhat subtlety insinuating a lack of manliness) – while encouraging positive feelings about the pugnacious, elderly inquisitor – at least for anyone who was around in the 80’s and remembers the Wendy’s commercials.
For reasons many and sundry Obama won’t pick Edwards for the VP.
I can see your point about the angle the Repubs might take to discredit an Obama/Edwards ticket. I’m leaning toward Richardson or Bob Graham as a Veep pick. Still, if Obama is considering including Edwards in his administration in any way, he would be an asset campaigning in the general.
As a native Floridian, I love Bob Graham, but he’s very old. And I know this is shallow, but he’s a terribly clumsy speaker (even more so than Peyote Bill).
And he looks like a hamster.
A lot of native Floridians love Bob Graham. His experience as Governor and Senator, especially his work on the Intelligence Committee, could lend gravitas to an Obama administration (even if not as Veep). As you note, he’s no movie star or steller speaker — there’s certainly no risk he’d come close to overshadowing the top of the ticket.
Great on the stump!!!???
Broad popularity!!!???
That’s why he came in so lame.
Give me a break.
AG
If that were Edwards’ intent, I’m sure he’s earned not only Obama’s but Howard Dean’s gratitude.
Let’s move this thing forward, already.
Edwards did several things. For himself he brought his own platform designs back into the spotlight. For Obama he opened up the door a goodly amount that H’s exit should indeed be imminent and that she can be allowed the badge of job well fought (cough).
His angle may be a legacy of the guy who led toward a unified party again.
Maybe Hillary’s head will explode.
Just told Bush to “shut the hell up!”
You know, I agree with everything KO says, but he needs to lose the constant indignant and preachy tone.
he needs to lose the constant indignant and preachy tone.
I think so too (although I haven’t seen tonight’s).
It was a Special Comment about Bush saying he quit golf because of the war.
I’m of two minds on Olberman’s outrage – on the one hand he should save his outrage for something truly outrageous instead of pouring on the righteous indignation every time that Bush says or does something stupid, but on the other hand most everything that Dubya does is truly outrageous, making it rather difficult to say, “Now he’s gone over the line!”
I just hope that Bush lives long enough to realize that he was the single worst president in the nation’s history, although the weight of that reality will probably bypass him, again.