Barring some monumental changes (and in politics monumental changes are as likely as not) John Edwards will soon face similar mathematical realities to the ones that drove political outsiders Howard Dean and Wesley Clark out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. If/when this happens we will hopefully finally see the day when George W. Bush and his right-wing-agenda-driven-lie-like-a-dog-say-one-thing-and-do-another-rich-man-loving-poor-and-middle
-class-man-despising-homophobic friends face a fully united Democratic party.
Until that moment happens, John Edwards has every right to keep campaigning and hoping for some unforeseen event to effectively knock off John Kerry. I have never been an Edwards man. I always thought he was too green to be president just yet but FWIW I have a politically savvy older friend here in Arkansas who served a long while as a state senator and still holds elective office and who always found JRE's sunny from-rags-to-riches message appealing.
I disagree with Kos that Edwards represents the future of the Democratic party and Kerry represents the past. I agree that Edwards does have a bright future and would one day make a great president but I don't think Kerry necessarily represents just the past. I see him as a (this is perhaps sappy but sue me) throwback to Camelot who definitely lacks the appeal of our modern day Arthur (JFK) but could nevertheless lead in his stead in such a way as to bring about a renewed future for the party.
At this point, although I now consider myself a Clark democrat and have publicly aired my objections to John Kerry being the nominee, I think John Kerry is a better choice than Edwards. I felt that Stephanopoulos stacked the deck slightly against Edwards last Sunday by the way he ordered and controlled the questions and responses in the mini-debate but I also feel that Kerry's experiential superiority vs Edwards is obvious. And now that Kerry seems to have overcome an initial onslaught from the right with that intern story, I am beginning to believe that his success vs. William Weld in a previous bid for office bodes well for how he will do against BushCo and the Rove wurlitzer.
Having said all that, there are several things I hope to see if/when Kerry sews up the nomination. First, I want Kerry to acknowledge the importance of the grassroots movement and message of Howard Dean and include the good doctor in his plans. I have long said that I want Governor Dean to have Terry Mac's job. Second, although I would prefer to have Clark as the VP choice, choosing Edwards as the VP candidate might unite the party more quickly and would not be a bad thing. Third, if General Clark is not the VP choice, I want him on the cabinet as either Secretary of State or National Security Advisor.
Finally, whomever the nominee is needs to start paying attention to all the House and Senate races and make sure the party gets a good organized campaign message. I have already made my pitch to the Kerry campaign on this in an e-mail to Harold Ford Jr. but I encourage others to make their voices known too.