Edwards reaffirms key political question
Nov 8, 2007 O Mores!, Politics and Poker
I took some heat for saying this about John Edwards:
John Edwards — whom, I will admit, I never liked politically, though of course our sympathy must go out to him and his family on a personal level — is one of two things:Either merely an inveterate liar, or a complete moral retard. Democrats are certainly used to having one or the other of those as their candidate, but chances are there’s at least one better one in this year’s field.
Well, if you don’t mind my saying so, this is becoming more conventional wisdom (via Kaus):
I actually think [John Edwards's new commercial is] one of the most sleazy, manipulative little political commercials of recent years. . .
“And Elizabeth and I decided in the quiet of a hospital room.” Subtle. “After 12 hours of tests and after getting very bad news.” Even subtler. His wife has cancer. “We’re not going to quietly go away. Instead we’re going to go out there and fight for what it is we believe.”
You know, Mitt Romney’s wife has multiple sclerosis. Obviously that’s not going to shorten her life the way Elizabeth Edwards’ cancer will shorten hers. But it’s the kind of thing that could stir up sympathy and handkerchief-clutching out there in Iowa and New Hampshire, and the Romneys only ever talk about it when asked. There’s no TV ad pimping her illness. If Romney has no emotions, than Edwards has only the basest ones. There’s not enough Lysol on the eastern seaboard to scrub his slime away.
The whole article by Dave Weigel is pretty good. He analyzes ego-driven campaigns, which is most of them, each with its own particular egotistical message. But who seriously gets to be a serious candidate for president and has anything like a normal ego?
November 9th, 2007 at 6:16 am
He forgot Rudy Giuliani who believes he can fly.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:42 am
What, people are shocked that John Edwards would use his wife’s terminal illness to achieve power – after making a fortune blaming psychiatrists for their patients’ suicides and OBGYNs for delivering babies with cerebral palsy?
Edwards was the kind of attorney that people think of whenever they hear the Shakespeare quote from Henry VI “The first thing we must do is kill all the lawyers.” Edwards crossed the line between convincing a jury on the merits of his client’s case, and flat out lying to win.
Edwards is by far the most dangerous, most evil, the most Nixon-esque of the major presidential candidates we’ve seen since, well, since Tricky Dick Nixon himself.
November 9th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Not sure what you mean. Could you be more specific, please?
August 11th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
[...] took some heat in the comments back then and played with this issue like an old piece of gum. Well. Is our choice any clearer [...]