It's official: The Democratic primary is a three way race.
Edwards, Kucinich, Richardson: All three men representing very different constituencies, each poised to take the Democratic party in his own direction.
Edwards brings a fiery populism to the table, a welcome change in an age of scrupulously mainstream politics. Edwards himself represents that change well: He is a former conservative southern Democrat who's made the conversion to the candidate of the dyed in the wool liberal, white male, mirroring the path he proposes in this primary to lead the Democratic party from out of the triangulating DLC politics of the nineties and into an era of uncompromising progressive fervor.
Kucinich offers another take on the new progressive, one with a shaky reputation on women's rights, but otherwise well left of what had been, to date, the so-called "mainstream" Democratic stance. With bold plans to withdraw from Iraq as fast as is humanly possible and unusual personal experiences from which to draw, Kucinich is the natural candidate for the new age Democrat.
Finally, Richardson, whatever he's about, seems to have some interesting foreign policy background and a pretty good Iraq policy.
These three iron men of Democratic presidential politics now find themselves on the battlefield of honor, scratching and clawing for dear life. Who shall prevail?