Nice Going Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards writes at dailykos.com. She says she knew. Why don't politicians understand that their affairs will ALWAYS be exposed. This is all I will write on this subject. I'm sure the media will have a field day or a field week. 

John Edwards admits an affair. Perfect timing. Way to bring back memories of Bill. Geez. What's with these guys who can't be faithful to their wives, especially if you're in politics. You're kind of serving as a role model. Not to get all judgmental, but that's just creepy. 

CNN: Speaking to the network for a story to be aired Friday night, Edwards acknowledged the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter, which began after she was hired to make documentary videos for his campaign, ABC said.

He said he has not taken a paternity test, but that the timing of the affair rules out the possibility that he could be her baby girl's father.

Edwards, of North Carolina, had repeatedly called reports of the affair "lies" but refused to discuss them further.

Edwards Serious About Vice President Slot

He says so here.
He's been my pick.
John Edwards' focus on poverty is one of the tenets of an Obama administration. I think they'd work well together. People discount him because he's already been vice president and he's already run for president. But I think people have warmed to him. He got a lot of support in the primaries. His wife, Elizabeth, and her focus on healthcare would be an asset to an Obama administration.
Also, no one votes for a candidate based on the vice president, except maybe the Hillaries. What would those PUMA gals do if she was Obama's vice presidential choice? I suspect they'd really be in a tizzy.

Elizabeth Edwards $40 Million Healthcare Campaign

The NRA is spending $40 million to smear Obama. Elizabeth Edwards is putting $40 million to better use.

Politico: Next week, the group Health Care for America Now will unveil a $40 million effort, with the first ad buy being a $1.5 million in national print, online and broadcast advertising.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards, is the headliner for the coalition, which includes a who's who list of liberal organizations such as MoveOn.org, the housing group ACORN, Americans United for Change, the Campaign for America’s Future, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the National Education Association, National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood and the Service Employees International Union.

Elizabeth Edwards on The Shallow Media

john edwards' wife elizabeth says vote responsibly and demand better from the news media.

nyt: Watching the campaign unfold, I saw how the press gravitated toward a narrative template for the campaign, searching out characters as if for a novel: on one side, a self-described 9/11 hero with a colorful personal life, a former senator who had played a president in the movies, a genuine war hero with a stunning wife and an intriguing temperament, and a handsome governor with a beautiful family and a high school sweetheart as his bride. And on the other side, a senator who had been first lady, a young African-American senator with an Ivy League diploma, a Hispanic governor with a self-deprecating sense of humor and even a former senator from the South standing loyally beside his ill wife. Issues that could make a difference in the lives of Americans didn’t fit into the narrative template and, therefore, took a back seat to these superficialities.

News is different from other programming on television or other content in print. It is essential to an informed electorate. And an informed electorate is essential to freedom itself. But as long as corporations to which news gathering is not the primary source of income or expertise get to decide what information about the candidates “sells,” we are not functioning as well as we could if we had the engaged, skeptical press we deserve.

And the future of news is not bright. Indeed, we’ve heard that CBS may cut its news division, and media consolidation is leading to one-size-fits-all journalism. The state of political campaigning is no better: without a press to push them, candidates whose proposals are not workable avoid the tough questions. All of this leaves voters uncertain about what approach makes the most sense for them. Worse still, it gives us permission to ignore issues and concentrate on things that don’t matter. (Look, the press doesn’t even think there is a difference!)

The Audacity of John Edwards

just when you think it couldn't get any sillier. this article suggests that "obama blew it" (john edwards endorsement) during his sit down with john edwards and his wife, elizabeth, by disagreeing on a healthcare issue and not putting poverty at the center of his campaign, just like edwards-- just like edwards whom not very many voted for, relatively speaking.

if anyone is for alleviating poverty, it's obama. his entire bottom-up democracy lays the groundwork for helping move more people out of poverty. at least obama's still in the running and can actually do something about it, as opposed to edwards who put off a lot of folks. unlike edwards, who foolishly laid the blame solely on business. that was my beef with edwards.
ny magazine:

But now two months have passed since Edwards dropped out—tempus fugit!—and still no endorsement. Why? According to a Democratic strategist unaligned with any campaign but with knowledge of the situation gleaned from all three camps, the answer is simple: Obama blew it. Speaking to Edwards on the day he exited the race, Obama came across as glib and aloof. His response to Edwards’s imprecations that he make poverty a central part of his agenda was shallow, perfunctory, pat. Clinton, by contrast, engaged Edwards in a lengthy policy discussion. Her affect was solicitous and respectful. When Clinton met Edwards face-to-face in North Carolina ten days later, her approach continued to impress; she even made headway with Elizabeth. Whereas in his Edwards sit-down, Obama dug himself in deeper, getting into a fight with Elizabeth about health care, insisting that his plan is universal (a position she considers a crock), high-handedly criticizing Clinton’s plan (and by extension Edwards’s) for its insurance mandate.

the article goes on to say that obama needs diplomatic skills. perhaps, he's just not going to be bullied by anyone: if you don't do this then i won't do that. what kind of mentality is that? perhaps, obama really is a president for the people. perhaps, these so-called "elders" ought to stop viewing him as a young senator and start seeing him for the leader that he is. i think that's what's really going on here. obama, in his campaign alone, has done more to change politics than any of these goons, who've spent years trying to matter.