Why is Edwards doing so bad?

[El Supremo]

Humor me. I don't read a lot of the stories.

And I don't mean just South Carolina, although this is a real surprise.

And don't blame it on the media. I don't see it that way.

[Bicoastal]

1. Goddamn it that was rude on my part, I'm sorry.

Forget it I said it. I'm not here.

[El Supremo]

2. I know!

I almost wrote it that way. But most people don't use adverbs today.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. Rude is your MO.

[Bicoastal]

13. Forget it, Blue State Native. I'm the one who apologizes around here, so

naturally that would make me the polite one, not you.

Anyway, you're not going to kill my bad mood tonight.

You're cute. Wanna dance? :loveya:

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[totodeinhere]

12. Hey, the OP just asked a question.

And that makes them a moron?

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

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[MADem]

4. He just couldn't catch the ring and get that slingshot momentum

The media IS a part of it.

He had a shot right after his wife announced her cancer. And he was getting press for a bit--he just was not able to "parlay" it.

Media IS an element, and part of it is that Clinton and Obama suck all the air out of the room. It's the pre-ordained "Battle of the Firsts."

[El Supremo]

9. I thought that Hill and Barak turned a lot of people off and they would go to Edwards.

What happened?

[patrice]

11. It's early. Edwards or Un-Committed ALL of the Way.

There's more than one game afoot for Edwards.

[MADem]

17. There are two lions and one lamb, that's how the media is painting this.

If Edwards had a boatload of cash, he could have gone over their heads with a wide variety of issue ads in heavy rotation. He doesn't have a boatload of cash, though, so he can't reach the wider electorate.

[New Dawn]

6. The corporate media is ignoring/demonizing him

However, despite all of that he still made over 15% tonight and got more delegates.

[mac56]

7. If you don't see that, at least in part, it's due to the media

I'm not sure that there's a basis for this discussion.

[patrice]

8. Machine politics is financed by the money that Edwards has rejected. nt

[cloud75]

10. he says he's been fighting for the poor and against popverty his whole life

and most people don't think that trial lawyers are in it to help the poor.

[EffieBlack]

14. Here's my take

I think that Edwards - perhaps unintentionally - came across to many voters as if he was telling them to vote for him because he's the white guy and he's the only one who could win any state in November. I don't necessarily think that he intended this to be his message, but many people that I talked to in South Carolina got that impression from him in his stump speech, some comments that were made, and in where he campaigned. He talked alot about racial unity, but it looked to some that he was more actively campaigning in heavily white, rural regions and was subtly urging people to vote for him because only a white man could really win in November.

That impression is borne out in the vote breakdown - Edwards got only 1% of the black vote, a shockingly low number.

That's my take. Again, I don't think Edwards purposely played the race/gender card, but it looks like some people believe he did.

[El Supremo]

21. I don't know about that.

He certainly did not play the race card on purpose - agreed. And I thought that Obama would win - but not by this much. But why didn't Edwards do a lot better than Hillary?

BTW, my favorites have all pulled out. Kucinich was my man. Richardson was second. Now Edwards is what I have left. If he's gone then I'd rather Obama than Hillary, but I worry a lot about a sort-of-black man running. I mean I worry for his safety. Maybe I'm a couple of decades too old. I like Obama.

[EffieBlack]

22. I think Edwards may also have been seen by many blacks to have played the race card

much of his campaign message in SC was "Vote for me because I'm the only one who can win in November" - but implicit in that, for some people was ". . . 'cause I'm a white man." I don't believe he intended to do that, but it did come across to some people that way - especially since he never gave a reason why he was more electable in the general than Obama or Clinton. Many people I talked to said they felt he was implicitly playing the race card with that. That could explain the low vote for him among blacks.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

16. ES&S voting equipment in SC leaves no paper trail. They can call it for whoever they want

I believe in my heart these primary elections, like the 2000 and 2004 elections, are illegitimate.

After getting "4%" (BS) of the votes in the Nevada Primary, John Edwards said “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”... then burst into laughter. Gee...wonder what he may have meant by that.

[nancyharris]

18. Easy

1 - His message is not focused on the middle class (which is where the vast majority of the Democratic votes are located).
and
2 - He is running against IBM and AT&T and Nextel instead of running against Senator Clinton and Senator Obama (much more effective in a general election than in a primary).

[El Supremo]

27. I think your #1 is dead on.

And the result is a real pity.

[Zorra]

19. In reality, it is the media. If you don't choose to see it that way, well,

you are entitled to believe that the Easter Bunny will be visiting soon if you like, but that won't make it so.

[7 of 11]

20. Because he looks like a used car sales dealer

and People don't trust him.

[ngant17]

23. JE smile is not as sincere

as Jimmy Carter's smile, which won him the Presidency in '76.

Also I get the impression that JE will say whatever seems to be popular at the moment. When he voted for IWR, it seemed popular to his advisors. Then he changed his mind 3 years later, the winds had shifted and he tries to catch that in his sails. It's a marketing strategy, PR, but that's not the sincere and honest approach.

I think he has a Dr.Jekyll/Mr.Hyde problem, I don't know what he will end up doing when he has the power of the presidency. probably more evil than good. It's hard to predict inconsistent behaviour.

[JDPriestly]

24. I'm walking my precinct and here are my opinions based on my

discussions with California voters.

1) It is the media: the people I talk to watch the TV news, not in-depth political reporting. All they know is that Hillary and Obama are running. When I tell them about Edwards they are surprised to find out he is running and very excited to hear about what he is saying and who he is. That does not mean that they will vote for him, but I walk away and they are talking about the election if a family member is present, and they are looking at the campaign materials (printed out on my black and white computer printer but pretty informative). They almost always say they will check out Edwards and look into him.

2. People are voting based on race, gender and age. My neighborhood is mostly Hispanic, with some African-American and Asian and a few white voters mixed in. This is lower middle class America. The majority of homes are owner occupied. May 10-15% are apartments. I can't tell you how many homes are rented. The neighborhood has gone through some gentrification. The mix of gangbangers and intellectuals is probably only known in East L.A. So a lot of our residents are voting based on team spirit: I'm for Obama because he represents "change." They are not talking about issues. They can't tell you a thing about the issues. They are talking about the way he looks: not white and very young.
A lot of women are voting based on gender: for another woman. There are exceptions, but this is what I am finding.

My precinct has about 370 some houses, far more voters than that. I have about 30 more houses to go. I would have finished earlier, but we have had a lot of rain in the afternoons this weekend.

About me: older, short female, big smile, friendly voice, lots and lots of education and ability to persuade as well as previous experience walking precincts and talking to voters. I always let voters know that I believe that they must make up their minds about their vote. I respect their choice. I never, never argue or put them down. I just ask them who they are backing and why and tell them about Edwards and why I back them. Then I say it's up to them. I respect each voter's right to decide.

[El Supremo]

28. I appreciate your response.

I'm just trying to get my precinct voters to go to the caucus. There I will tell them about John Edwards.

[kentuck]

25. The Truth?

Because he is running against two great candidates. If he were running against Romney, or Guiliani, or Huckabee, or McCain in SC, I guarantee he would win going away. It's not that Edwards is doing so "bad" - it's that Obama and Hillary are doing so "good".

[El Supremo]

31. I thought about that.

But I wouldn't call them "great". Just on the upswing right now.

[femmedem]

26. I think from day one the media made it so much about Clinton and Obama

that people were afraid they'd be throwing away their vote if they voted for Edwards.

Sometimes I wonder if we'd be better off not knowing any poll results until after the election. Not just exit polls, mind you. I mean throughout the whole season. Then people would vote for the candidate who best represented their views--and the so-called fringe candidates would be a lot more viable.

[nonconformist]

29. Because this race is not about the issues, nor who can win in November

It's about gender, race and rock stars.

[rucky]

30. He's just getting crowded out.

Big attention getters - and short attention spans giving it.

[robcon]

32. I think he's not genuine.

His positions have changed so dramatically since he was Senator and VP candidate, that he's lost credibility.

It's not what he stands for (many of his positions are popular), it's whether you can trust him.

[Tatiana]

33. A number of reasons, I think.

The whole "change" theme seems to be prevalent for the anti-Clinton faction of the Democratic party and those voters seem to be breaking Obama's way. I think some folks think Obama represents an agent of change more than Edwards does. Edwards is someone that they already know from the previous national election, and it seems like they still haven't been swayed in his direction.

Also, Obama has more of a clean slate than Clinton or Edwards. He isn't constantly on the defensive trying to explain unpopular votes like the Clinton and Edwards do (IWR).

[FrenchieCat]

34. He's been running too long.......

folks have seen his name on the ballot too many times, and when they have voted for him, nothing came of it. At some point, folks decide to do something different.

It is like the saying, "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. " at some point is not many voters' choice....especially the ones that aren't die-hard Edwards supporters.

No one likes a professional perpetual candidate that doesn't bring home the bacon from time to time. The fact that he was on the losing ticket last presidential election doesn't really help him either.

Add his acceptance of matching funds and his change of opinion in a relatively short time from the senate to now which would be easy fodder for the GOP, and well, Edwards has a real problem.

[Blue_In_AK]

35. Race and gender.