Re. the last bit: Yeah. I have to admit this is part of the reason I've been reluctant to get on board with Edwards: his candidacy seems to be the repository of the hopes of lots of people who think that to win, Democrats need to look and sound like Republicans (i.e. be rich white men and speak Southern). In fairness, though, he can't be blamed for being any of those things, and moreover he clearly stands for some far more progressive things than rich Southern white male politicians have traditionally stood for. Gotta give him a fairer shake.

I am beginning to worry that Blacks may stay home in the general election if Barak's NOT on the ticket...
just sayin'

Amen to that, Ryan. Of the three main Dem candidates, Edwards has taken the most clear-cut liberal positions, especially on the war, on universal health care, and on attacking poverty.

Even if some people support him because they want a white male candidate, there clearly aren't that many of them, given his standing in the polls. And in the Dem primaries, he's got an uphill battle, since Hillary and Obama are grabbing pretty much all the black vote.

Wouldn't worry about that, konopelli. Hillary's well-liked amongst African-Americans.

But Arkansas...if Hillary has Arkansas locked up, it's going to be hard to keep her from winning the election if nominated. Here's why:

1) The 2008 Dem candidate will probably win every state Kerry won. That's 252 EVs.

2) Iowa's trending Dem again. (Kerry lost it by only 10,059 votes.) That's another 7.

3) Arkansas has 6 EVs. That brings the total to 265.

4) From there, Hillary doesn't need Ohio or Florida; she just needs Nevada or New Mexico or West Virginia, each of which has 5 EVs.

Winning Arkansas means the GOP nominee has to 'run the table.' Could happen, but it's not the way to bet.

rather liberal economic policies sound relatively mainstream

WTF? Liberal economic policies are mainstream, to everyone but the beltway bandits!

Edwards has my vote! He had it the moment he said that he refused to let his personal religion dictate his governing policies! Wow, what a refreshing idea - separation of church and state! Who would have conceived of such a mad concept?

A Huckabee nod for the GOP VP slot could send more votes in the direction of the GOP candidate in Arkansas but, given those Rasmussen numbers, likely not enough to swing the state away from Hillary. And people aren't voting for VPs...they're voting for the top spot.

Rasmussen, by the way, also has Hillary ahead of both Rudy and Fred in Florida, by 5 and 13 points, respectively. That's a commanding lead over the non-candidate and a pretty decent lead over the Florida GOP frontrunner.

Yeah, Ryan -- his Southern accent gives him the freedom to move a lot further left than anyone else can. And with the health care plan, the antipoverty stuff, and the strong opposition to funding the war, he's making full use of that freedom.

Great news for Clinton and the Democrats. The blogsphere needs to do its job to get this information out loud and clear as to counter the Rove's current misinformation campaign.

Edwards inherently sounds less liberal not only because he's the white candidate, but specifically because he's the Southern white candidate.

I don't agree. If you wanted a Southern white, openly religious, and socially moderate to conservative candidate you couldn't do any better than Al Gore in 2000.

Republicans easily rebranded him. All they did was claim he wasn't a real southerner. Just like John Kerry wasn't a real Catholic and city folk aren't real Americans.

Once they've convinced enough people that Edwards isn't a real southerner, people will start asking why he's such a phony for pretending to be one.

I have to admit this is part of the reason I've been reluctant to get on board with Edwards: his candidacy seems to be the repository of the hopes of lots of people who think that to win, Democrats need to look and sound like Republicans

I'm with Ryan here. Every time I hear the great white (and southern) hope argument, Edwards drops in my standings.

It's not his fault but I don't think I can stand another 4-8 years of Democrats arguing that they have to shun 3/4ths of the country in order to win nationally.

It's not his fault but I don't think I can stand another 4-8 years of Democrats arguing that they have to shun 3/4ths of the country in order to win nationally.
Posted by: Jinchi | August 17, 2007 06:49 PM

If that were what's happening, I would agree with you. The difference? He isn't shunning 3/4ths of America by being a blue dog dem - he's pushing the most progressive agenda of the three top-runners. In fact, it's Hillary and Obama that are doing exactly what you say. Being afraid to stand up and state their intention to be progressive, and pandering to the 1/4th vote. That's the irony of this case.

I plan on voting for whitey here in California since he is the most liberal and may actually risk some political capital to help my community.

All they did was claim he wasn't a real southerner.

Which wasn't too hard with Gore -- he wasn't much for the kind of big-hearted Southern populist appeals that Edwards specializes in.

So, there you have it.

Democratic primary voters have the chance to vote for one of two candidates with "progressive" images evolving out of their identities (though we could argue about HRC's image), or a candidate with a socially conservative image with, arguably, a "progressive" platform.

What to do.

Don't think for a moment that Rove is working the "Hillary is fatally-flawed" angle cause he wants the Democrats to put up a "stronger" candidate for the GOP to run against in the general.

Please!

Since when has Rove been the least bit concerned about Democrats winning?

Rove is trying to inject seeds of doubt regarding Clinton becuase he's done his homework and has come to the conclusion that Clinton is the only Democrat who can win in 2008.

Let's not invest ourselves into the GOP propoganda again, as we did in 2000 and 2004. Let's elect a candidate who has a proven track record at beating the GOP for a change.

Rove will always play ruthlessly. Let's rise to the occassion this time!

It is not his southern accent that allows Edwards this leeway, it is years of practice in courtrooms getting regular folks on juries to take hundreds of millions of dollars from rich doctors and corporations and give it to his clients. He knows how to present his platform. My favorite is how he says that the rich and powerful interests will never voluntarily give up their advantages through negotiation; we have to take back fairness for the middle class and poor. Poor people know this is true and the middle class is learning.

The other note on Edwards is that he played defensive back in football. If you don't know the mind-set and fearlessness it takes to play that position, ask someone who did. Edwards can take care of himself.

I think intensity matters more than some of you are thinking. Sure, she has a 20% lead amongst whatever universe of voters the poll is polling for. But is there anyone who doubts that the people who hate her are more enthusiastic than the people who love her?

Outside of single women, who seem to have pinned their hopes and dreams on the notion that a rich, married woman can succeed in our society, is there anyone who is truly wildly enthusiastic? Well, I guess defense contractors and credit card companies...

What party would want to nominate a white male populist Southerner, who has made a career out of advocacy, for president? Surely not the party of President Kerry, President Dukakis, President Mondale and President Humphrey.

Let's not forget that Al Gore would have been elected president except for some elderly Jews in Palm Beach County who mistakenly voted for a neo-Nazi on the infamous butterfly ballot.

The Rethuglicans have won national elections by appealing to cultural values, which to most on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line matter more than political views. A liberal politician reared in the South (as opposed to, say, a liberal politician reared in the suburbs of Chicago) is steeped in a culture that respects military service and those who regularly attend worship services. That matters in a general election.

"cultural values, which to most on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line matter more than political views."

Apparently. There's no democracy here.

At least we noo longer have to wonder who JoeCHI's working for. Go away, paid troll.