I predict that Edwards will be the 2008 Democratic Party nominee.
The reasons are fairly simple...
- The press is going to increasingly bait Hillary and Obama into scuffles...expect to see a lot more stories like this one. Eventually, voters will get fatigued, and the two candidates will increasingly bruise each other. This will hurt Obama more than Hillary, since his big thing is being positive and about hope...his inevitable negative attacks will mar his sheen.
- The only thing anyone has on Edwards is his "hair issue". His progressive credentials are solid and his message is compelling without being divisive (among liberals, that is).
- As this wonderful post shows, the early poll numbers mean nothing.
- Hillary is sinking herself with the progressive base. This labor story today is only the beginning.
- The DKos community backs Edwards, as the recent straw poll shows. As this last weekend showed, this is no small matter.
All three would make fine presidents, and they would all get my vote. But I think it will be Edwards.