To most of the JRE
To most of JRE's supporters on this site, I truly admire your beliefs, dedication and commitment to Edwards and sincerely hope you enthusiastically support the eventual nominee, Obama or Clinton. I really liked Edwards also as I myself voted for him over John Kerry in the primaries of 2004. If he had won Iowa and gone on to win the nomination, I would enthusiastically support him as well.
Realistically, barring a major collapse or screw up on the part of Obama and Clinton, I expect Edwards to eventually drop out. No matter how one tries to spin his 2nd place showing as a "win", it really is a big disappointment. We could all see it in his face last night. He has been campaigning in Iowa since 2001, he was practically on a first name basis with the voters, he had a strong organization of experienced caucus goers behind. His strategy was all about winning Iowa and he failed. Moreover, he didn’t even do as well as he dad the last time around...percentage-wise atleast.
He doesn’t have much of an organization in New Hampshire and is considerably behind in the polls there. It will get even worse for him when the post Iowa polls in NH register a huge bump for Obama. Furthermore, he is also way behind in the polls in South Carolina, his birthplace. He doesn’t have Obama’s or Clinton’s campaign war chest and subsequent losses will severely stymie his ability to raise more funds, further drying whatever money he does have. It is an Obama-Clinton race from here on and even she is in trouble, but she has plenty of money, organization and establishment support to hang on for awhile.
I’m here to say that it’s OKAY. Life will go on and I totally under stand what you are going through. I’ve been through this before too. To better understand what you are going through, I offer you "The Phases of Grief and Mourning." I can see that some of you are going through some or all of the phases. It is directly from a handbook provided by The National Resource Center for Suicide Prevention and Aftercare. And for the most strident, most partisan, and most acrimonious among you that were so prone to such erratic behaviours, i.e, smears, innuendos, distortions, self-manufactured outrage, and even unwarranted hatred, please take seriously the last line in uppercase letters!.
THE PHASES OF GRIEF
Many people refer to the "stages" or "phases" of grief. It may be helpful to be aware of these identified phases or common aspects of grief. It is also important to know there is no right or wrong way to grieve. You may go back and forth between phases, experience more than one at a time, or even skip one all together. All feelings are normal, even if they seem "crazy".
• SHOCK is the first stage of numbness, disbelief and unreality.
• DENIAL is thoughts or words such as, "I don't believe it -- It can't be!"
• BARGAINING involves making promises such as, "I'll be so good if only I can awaken to find this hasn't happened" or "I'll do all the right things if only..."
• GUILT is a hard stage and difficult to deal with alone. This is a normal feeling characterized by statements such as, "If only I had ... If only I had not..." done or said or thought something. Guilt may ultimately be resolved by understanding that all of us are human beings who give the best and worst of ourselves to others. What they do with what we give is their responsibility.
• ANGER is another very difficult phase, but it may seem necessary in order to face reality and get beyond the loss. We all must heal in our own way and anger is a normal stage along the way. However, you may feel guilty because you are angry at the person who died or because your life is continuing while his or hers is not. If you don't feel anger, don't manufacture it!
• DEPRESSION may come and go and be different each time in length and/or intensity. Give yourself time to heal.
• RESIGNATION means you finally believe the reality of the death.
• ACCEPTANCE and HOPE (Obama's word!) come when you finally understand that you will never be the same, but you can go on to have meaning and purpose in your life.
SUICIDE IS A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO A TEMPORARY PROBLEM!