General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: John Edwards... the REST of the story [View all]karynnj
(59,498 posts)1) They were never "nervous" about him - they pushed Kerry, who did not particularly have a good opinion of him, to pick him because they saw him as a future superstar.
2) He was not a populist in 1998 when he ran, in the Senate where he voted for a bankruptcy bill and was a cosponsor of the IWR, and in 2004 when he ran to the right of Kerry, Dean, Clark and even Gephardt.
3) Success??? You do know that in 2 general elections he won only two states - and one was his state voting for him in a caucus when Kerry already had the delegates needed - it was designed to help him get the VP nod. Gingrich won 2 states this year - should the GOP be really scared of him.
Edwards was a media darling from 1998 - some time in 2006. That changed because he changed. He decided to run to the left. His 2008 platform was closer to Kerry's 2004 platform than his own - and the left media followed - and some STILL argue in terms of his 2008 message.
His 2008 message was developed to give him the best chance of winning. Hillary had the centrist position and there was no way to win there. So, he figured he could reinvent himself as the true progressive - and he eventually had Trippi running his campaign. I have NO IDEA who Edwards really is - because he was what he thought would win in each of the 3 time periods - and they are as different as Bernie Sanders is to Joe Lieberman. (Think of it, like them or not - you can define Kerry, Dean, Obama and Hillary Clinton by stands they have taken - they are all complex people, who won't fit any generic label, but you know who they are enough that you generally know what position they will take.)