Elizabeth Edwards To Chris Matthews And Rest Of Media: Ahem -- John And I Are Still Here
January 5, 2008 -- 2:45 PM EST
One of the things I'd been wondering was whether John Edwards' slim victory over Hillary for second-place in Iowa would shift the media dynamic of the race and get people to cover it as more of a three-way contest. In general terms, it's already obvious that the answer is No.
On this score, I'd really be remiss if I didn't share with you these wonderful quotes from Elizabeth Edwards on Hardball, where she chastised Chris Matthews and the rest of the political media for slighting her man.
First, Elizabeth was asked whether John would be able to survive if Barack Obama won both Iowa and New Hampshire. She observed that John had come in second in Iowa in 2004, that he had gotten short-shrifted in coverage then, and that this was happening again:
ELIZABETH EDWARDS: ...we had the "Dean scream" in `04, which sort of made second place, which John had -- not mean as much because you all covered that, as opposed to the second-place finish.
Now, of course, you`re covering Hillary`s third-place finish instead of John`s second-place finish. So we`re still fighting against you guys.At another point, Matthews and Elizabeth had this exchange:
CHRIS MATTHEWS: I don`t know how John Edwards wins this thing as long as those two are fighting for the nomination. They seem to get in the way. Doesn`t one of them have to get knocked out?
ELIZABETH EDWARDS: If knocking --
if John`s finishing second isn`t enough to get him in the conversation with you guys, yes, we have to knock one of those two off in order to get him into the conversation.Great, great stuff. Elizabeth's short-lived career as a media nudge has been one of the more entertaining -- and salutary -- sideshows of Campaign 2008.
more at:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2008/01/john_and_elizab.php