I've seen many John Edwards supporters on these boards frustrated that John Edwards hasn't been able to do better in the early caucus and primary states. It seems inexplicable to many of them that the clear and powerful Edwards message hasn't been able to gain more traction. Much of their anger is focused on the press, which has clearly given the lion's share of its attention to Clinton and Obama. But while this clearly hasn't helped Edwards, and whether one attributes this to the corporate media being threatened by the Edwards agenda, or to the media finding a black man/white woman feud to be a better ratings getter, or to the old vicious circle of better results equals more media attention, and more media attention equals better results, I think there is something much more basic at play. The explosion of new voters in this primary season has been devastingly bad for the Edwards campaign. More below.
[Disclaimer: The author is an Obama supporter, with Edwards as his second choice. This isn't a diary about the worthiness of ideas; it's a horse race diary about why Edwards isn't winning.]
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