Edwards Weighs Clinton Endorsement
Former Candidate Torn Between Clinton and Obama in Democratic Race
By RICK KLEIN and RAELYN JOHNSON
Feb. 13, 2008 —
As he weighs a possible endorsement in the Democratic race, former
Sen. John Edwards is as split as the party he once hoped to lead
and is seriously considering supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
despite the sharp criticism he leveled at her on the campaign trail,
according to former aides and advisers.
In deciding between his one-time rivals, Edwards appears deeply
divided. Several former advisers likened his thought process to a
heart-versus-head split with his heart favoring Sen. Barack Obama's
strong message of change, and his head attracted to Clinton's tested
nature and commitment to tough fights.
Though he sometimes aligned himself with Obama and against Clinton
as a candidate, several Edwards campaign insiders say the former
senator began to sour on Obama toward the end of his own campaign,
and ultimately left the race questioning whether Obama had the
toughness needed to prevail in a presidential race.
"He is much more torn than people realize," said one former aide who
has stayed in contact with Edwards. "Honestly, he has serious
reservations about both of them."
Several people close to the former North Carolina senator say he may
ultimately stay neutral in the race, joining former Vice President Al
Gore on the sidelines of the tightest Democratic race in decades.
That may become a stronger possibility if Obama continues to build
momentum toward the nomination: Edwards does not want to back a
losing candidate, and neither does he want to join a bandwagon, aides
and associates say.
But former campaign aides who have stayed in contact with Edwards say
he is eager to play a major role in the race, and is mindful that his
backing would only carry weight if it comes relatively quickly
before the March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio, which could
effectively settle the nomination fight.
He also appears to realize that endorsing Clinton would likely carry
the most weight, since it would be more unexpected and would provide
a jolt of energy to a campaign that is suffering a rough patch,
particularly in the wake of Tuesday's election results, which saw
Obama sweep Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
If Edwards does choose to endorse, the natural choice would still
seem to be Obama, whose outsider status and strong anti-Washington
rhetoric is a close fit with the populist streak Edwards brought to
his 2008 campaign.
Just last month, at the ABC News/WMUR/Facebook debate shortly before
the New Hampshire primary, Edwards came to Obama's defense when
Clinton went on the attack.
Obama, Edwards said, "believes deeply in change, and I believe deeply
in change. Anytime you speak out for change, this is what happens.
The forces for the status quo are going to attack."
But notwithstanding his often caustic criticism of Clinton, on a
series of high-profile issues most notably health care and energy
policy Edwards stands closer to Clinton, D-N.Y., than to Obama, D-
Ill. Clinton has taken care to mention the similarities between her
health care plan and Edwards' on the trail in recent days.
Another veteran member of Edwards' inner circle said the former
candidate is approaching the possibility of an endorsement with a
fresh mind. In reexamining both candidates, the former aide said, he
is attracted not only to Clinton's policy portfolio, but also to her
long track record as first lady and as a senator.
"He's now in a position where he's thinking, who's really ready to be
president?" the veteran aide said. "I know that he believes she's
going to do what she says he'll do. Not that that isn't the case with
Obama, but there's more maturity there [with Clinton]."
Clinton and Obama have been actively wooing Edwards in the hopes of
getting one of the last big Democratic endorsements available.
Clinton traveled secretly to Chapel Hill, N.C., to meet with Edwards
last week; a similar meeting with Obama was rescheduled from Monday
night after it received wide press attention.
Both have begun sprinkling their stump speeches with more talk of
poverty Edwards' signature issue. Over the weekend, Clinton told an
audience in Maine that she would lean on Edwards' expertise if she's
elected president.
"There is a lot John and I have in common," Clinton said. "I will be
a fighter, and I intend to ask John Edwards to be a part of anything
I do in the White House."
The fact that Edwards' endorsement is in demand is in part a
statement on how close the Democratic race is. Edwards won 40
delegates before dropping out, but those so-called Edwards delegates
are under no obligation to follow his direction at the Democratic
National Convention.
If he hits the trail for a favored candidate, he could be of
particular help in attracting the votes of white males a key swing
group in the contests that have taken place to date. But as a string
of high-profile politicians have made clear, endorsements rarely
translate into votes in primaries and caucuses.
An Edwards endorsement of Clinton would be uncomfortable in large
part because of Edwards' own words. As a candidate, Edwards kept up a
running and biting critique of Clinton, and set up his candidacy in
large part in opposition to Clinton and the type of politics he
claimed that she represented.
He tagged Clinton as a "corporate Democrat" who refused to take tough
stands on key issues, and he strongly suggested that she's too
polarizing a figure to win a general election. He blasted her record
on trade and health care, and said she was too indebted to insurance
and drug companies to bring real change to Washington.
"Good people are caught up in this system, and I've given some
examples of the places that I think she's caught up in it," Edwards
told the Associated Press in October. "And I also, secondly, think
that she continues to defend it. And I don't think you can bring up
the change this country needs if you defend a corrupt system that
doesn't work."
At one point, Edwards even refused to commit to backing Clinton is
she were to become the nominee, though he later clarified that he
would support whomever the Democratic Party nominates.
But toward the end of the campaign, Edwards directed some fire at
Obama as well. Edwards blasted Obama when he refused to specifically
condemn an independent group that was spending money on his behalf
despite the fact that Obama was harshly critical of Edwards over
support he was getting from an outside advocacy group.
"If he really means what he says and this is not just talk he
should speak up and denounce this kind of divisive politics," Edwards
said. "It is not what the Democratic Party needs."
And at the last Democratic debate that featured Edwards, he took a
sharper tone with Obama, joining Clinton in questioning why Obama
voted "present" on a series of controversial measures in the Illinois
state senate.
"What I didn't hear was an explanation for why over 100 times you
voted 'present' instead of yes or no when you had a choice to vote up
or down," Edwards said.
With three options on the table an endorsement of either of his
former rivals, or maintaining neutrality the final call is Edwards'
alone. He is keeping close counsel, consulting primarily his wife,
Elizabeth, according to former aides.
His decision could come down to what he envisions as his role in a
Democratic administration. The only Cabinet job he seems interested
in is the post of attorney general. While he has said he has no
interest in a second run for vice president, one former aide said he
certainly wouldn't turn down such an offer, in part because such a
path seems to be his only realistic shot of ever becoming president.
But Edwards has told several associates that he envisions himself
outside of government, working on poverty in a manner similar to the
way Gore has taken on environmental challenges as a personal cause.
As one former aide pointed out, Gore didn't need to make endorsements
or accept another government post to make his transition.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dems2008/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dems2008/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:Dems2008-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:Dems2008-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Dems2008-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder