Bob Novak resorts to using his entire column to attack John Edwards for having the nerve to alienate the Washington Democratic Establishment by - gasp! - being a "populist."
Here's the key excerpt:
"Mark Siegel, a 35-year party insider, told me: 'He came to Washington as a 'New Democrat,' but he's not that kind of Democrat anymore. He's into class warfare.'...Edwards has not worn well with party colleagues. Campaign consultant Bob Shrum was enthusiastic about Edwards after working on his 1998 Senate victory in North Carolina and unsuccessfully advised Gore to make him his 2000 running mate. But Shrum chose Kerry over Edwards as his 2004 presidential client...During the 2004 primaries, Democratic activist James Carville was enchanted when Edwards shifted his centrist posture to a populist depiction of 'Two Americas.' Carville told me -- and then repeated it on CNN -- that Edwards was the best stump speaker he ever had seen. When I asked him this week whether he still thought that was true, Carville replied: 'Maybe he's not as good now.'"
Making the kinds of enemies who become so desperate that they run to an archconservative Republican columnist to vent their anger is a good sign that a Democratic presidential candidate is doing something right. Remember, one of the best ways to see what a candidate is all about is to look at who their enemies are. At a time when the real problem facing America can be encapsulated by one word - Washington - it's important to know which candidate Washington really fears.
NOTE: For those who cite this as some sort of nefarious "proof" that I am working for John Edwards, please go away. That line is just tired and a lie - I don't work for Edwards, and never have. Additionally, there's nothing nefarious about thinking a candidate - any candidate - is doing the right thing.
UPDATE: Mark Siegel (pretty safely assuming its the same Mark Siegel), the guy who Novak first cites attacking Edwards, is a Washington Democratic corporate lobbyist hired by the same firm that now employs Harriet Miers as a lobbyist. You can see his financial industry clients here.