The John Edwards endorsement watch has gotten ridiculous, with each major candidate "sneaking" off to kiss the ring of the third place finisher. It smells like political vanity to me...
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I lost a lot of respect for Edwards, given all his bluster about being a fighter and given his withering attacks on Hillary Clinton as the candidate of the "status quo," when he decided to wait out the election to see which way the winds might blow before making an endorsement. I suspect, more than anything else, Edwards is angling for a spot - ANY SPOT - in a Clinton OR Obama administration. If true, this undercuts his whole persona as a crusader for key progressive values and makes him out to be just like every other scheming, ambitious politician. He claimed to be different...
To me, Edwards and Gore are very similar political figures: lots of pious bluster, but very little real backbone; Neither of them advocated strongly for the issues they now champion when they actually had institutional political power. Al Gore clearly loves his celebrity status as moral conscience of the nation on the environment; he has literally grown fat off of that celebrity persona. Yet, Gore has undermined that position by being unwilling to try to affect policy for real change. I understand why he might not want to run for office himself, but I think, given his moralizing and apocalyptic rhetoric, that he has an obligation to use his clout to try to put people in office that WILL affect policy on climate change. Ultimately, policy change is central to any broader and substantive environmental change.
So, John and Al, how about growing a backbone and taking a stand. Yes, that stand might mean some political risks, but that is how it works.
Put your money where your mouths are. It is time to sh*t or get off the pot...
What do YOU think about John Edwards and Al Gore? If Edwards does jump in with an endorsement, what - if any - impact do you think it will have on the race at this point? Might it tip the balance to Hillary or Barack? Might it sway a significant number of working-class white or lefty voters to whoever he chooses? Or, has he waited too long and have most of his people already reshuffled to a new candidate? And what of Al Gore's studied silence in this race?