|
The
Man to Defeat George W. Bush: John Edwards
April 27, 2002
By Prion
Editor's
Note: Democratic Underground welcomes articles promoting individual
Democratic candidates for political office. Publication of
these articles does not imply endorsement of any candidate
by the editors of Democratic Underground.
Many of you have probably seen the Presidential Preference
polls. Usually Gore is in first place with a simple plurality,
Hillary Clinton is second, Tom Daschle is third and the rest
are below. Usually there is one guy in last place or near
last place that most of you have never heard of. His name
is John Edwards. What you do not know about John Edwards is
that he has what it takes to defeat George W. Bush.
Who is John Edwards? John Edwards is the junior Senator from
North Carolina. He has been described as having the combined
political skills of John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. He has
also been described by Time magazine as the “Democrats’ New
Golden Boy” and as the “Sexiest Politician” by People Magazine.
He has also been described by Republicans as Bill Clinton
without the scandal. John Edwards has what it takes to be
president. He has charisma, personality, southern charm and
is a telegenic centrist. Being an authentic southerner, John
Edwards has the ability to win back the south and energize
the Democratic base and win over moderates, to produce a winning
coalition.
According to Bush Administration officials, John Edwards
would be the most formidable candidate to challenge them in
2004. He is a fresher face than Gore, more moderate than Hillary
Clinton or John Kerry, and more charismatic than Tom Daschle
or Dick Gephardt.
Is a fresh face important? Since the civil war, several major
party candidates have run multiple times for president. Of
them, only one, Richard Nixon, ever became president. Those
same polls that show Gore ahead of all Democrats, Hillary
Clinton behind him and Tom Daschle behind her, show that if
any known Democrat ran against George Bush, he or she would
cause a massive defection of “Bush Democrats,” leading to
a Bush landslide victory. Clearly, we do need a fresh face.
Is ideology important? Well think about it. Since 1968 five
liberals have run for President and all lost. One won very
few states and another won only one state. If you combine
all five liberal candidates, three southern states were won.
President Clinton ran as a moderate and broke the Democrat’s
loosing streak in Presidential politics. He had huge Electoral
College victories and won a total of thirteen southern states.
A liberal cannot win the south. This is not opinion, this
is proven fact.
Is charisma important? If you look at every Presidential
race since 1980, the winner was much more charismatic than
their opponent. Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush were all more
charismatic than their opponents. People vote for people they
like, not people they dislike, even if they think that the
person they dislike has better ideas.
John Edwards gained Senate fame when he defended President
Clinton during his Senate trial. He gained press fame when
he made Al Gore’s short list for a running mate. And he made
enemies when he humiliated right-wing extremist and Bush nominee
to the federal bench Charles Pickering, and crushed the nomination.
When the primaries come around, John Edwards will need to
gain fame with base Democrats if we are to see 2004 be a repeat
of 1992.
|
