Mr. Spence, you are spot on in your analysis. I too talked about the problem of symbols in this election in the comment I posted on Mr. Shapiro's piece.

This Election Contest has Already Turned Into a Debate about Race & Gender

"John Edwards is, of course, still in the mix, but it is a telling symbol of change that the white male is running third."

You're right, Walter, it is a telling symbol. However, I think the problem with this election is that too many people are voting for symbols, when they should be voting for the best candidate.

For the full comment:

http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2008/01/14/hillary/view/index15.html?show=all

Despite Obama saying on the campaign trail that he will stop "Scooter Libby justice", I haven't heard him lead on this issue like Dodd, nor have I heard Hillary lead. Why aren't they being asked about this issue? This is a crucial issue that should tell voters what kind of candidates we have. While Edwards is not in the Senate he should be asked about this as well.

"...why haven't more rank-and-file Democrats rallied behind Edwards?"

Because of articles like this one!

Edwards' chances of winning this election have been minimized in the media during the entire campaign to the point that regular voters who want to vote for him don't because they think he doesn't have a chance. Media pundits and some reporters have been writing story after story designed to convince people who want to vote for Edwards not to do it. And then someone like you comes along and has the nerve to ask why he isn't doing better. You can't be serious.

As we get closer to the SC Primary I've noticed the usual increase in these "Edwards can't win" pieces. It's like you guys are programmed to make sure to whack him real good right before people vote. While some in the media may be a bit nicer (not very many of those) all of the pieces have one thing in common - they all knock Edwards chances in the race to discourage anyone from voting for him so they can divy up Edwards supporters among Clinton & Obama. I imagine it's real infuriating to these media types when Edwards keeps winning the debates. Because after each debate you can tell they are working extra hard to throw cold water on his campaign. I bet it is probably harder to put Edwards down after the debates because that's the one time people get to see with their own eyes how good he is instead of their usual view of him through the eyes of the media. I sure hope the people in South Carolna beat the media that this game they've been playing. I hope they ignore the pundits and vote for the candidate they really want to vote for. If they do that then this horse will be out of the barn and no one will be able to catch him.

Because he's the white guy?

Sorry to throw some cold water on you all but simply put, the Dems have decided this is their Halley Berry year. No white guys need apply. Maybe that will work maybe it won't but in either case this is what they're going for.

--Anonymous

Permalink Friday, January 25, 2008 09:27 AM

I don't care what color Edwards is, he's got the best policies, he's the best debater and he consistently wins in head to head matchups with the GOP candidates.

If the Dems. want to win and save our Party we better wake up and ditch the two self-absorbed candidates who don't seem to care that they have been tearing this Party apart over race and gender for the sole purpose of advancing their own desires to be president.

This appeared in an article in the Nation magazine. It's about Edwards so naturally it isn't in this Salon piece. Just like Edwards, rural voters are evidently invisible to the media.

"In rural areas, Clinton pulled just 42 percent of the vote to 24 percent for Obama. Edwards showed his greatest strength in the small towns, winning 31 percent. Interestingly, Edwards won 10 of the state's 67 counties and ran a strong second in many more.

That's especially bad news for Clinton because, as a number of the country's most rural states prepare to vote February 5, Edwards will be competing for their votes. The populist Democrat showed in Florida, a state where he did not even campaign, that he can run strong in rural areas. And Edwards will be campaigning in coming days on Oklahoma, Tennessee, Minnesota and other states with vast rural stretches.

That means that, even as Clinton focuses on her fight with Obama in big urban states such as Florida and New Jersey, she will still be feeling some heat from John Edwards in regions that are not necessarily Obama's bases of strength."

Edwards is a real class act.

What a shame that so many in the media made so many snide remarks about him and his character. As far as I'm concerned it's the media whose collective character should be questioned. For they are the ones that deliberately marginalized Edwards and other candidates just so they could have their race vs. gender coverage. They may have won in the short term but I think in the long term they have severely damaged themselves in the eyes of many Americans.