Why I believe John Edwards will endorse on Wednesday
Sat May 10, 2008 at 11:30:26 AM PDT
On Friday, John Edwards went on a media blitz to talk about his new anti-proverty program half in ten, which vowed to cut national proverty in half by ten years. He also established that he does eventually plan to endorse very soon and for the person who he voted for in the NC primary.
Now John Edwards could have easily sat this one out, waited until the end, and then support the eventually nominee which is more than likely going to be the man he voted for: Barack Obama.
So why would John Edwards say he is going to endorse soon if the election is going to be over at the earliest May 21 and the lastest June 3? Why would he think at this point that his endorsement would make a difference when most of his voters and supporters have already moved to Obama?
The answer is quite simple. Obama's camp is quite notorious in timing endorsements when they want them to come out or when they believe they will need them to maximize a narrative they want to push. The reason that we don't see a lot of superdelegates rush forward but instead trickle out is for the same reason. Obama's camp wants to control the narrative and give it a more natural feel so that there are no complaints he stole the election by superdelegates but earned it by winning the most states, the most delegates, and the popular vote.
I think John made up his mind a while ago, and while Elizabeth supports Hillary's healthcare plan more than Obama's and more than likely voted for Clinton, I think she wouldn't mind throwing her support to Obama either, especially since he's poised to be the nominee. His campaign manger going to Obama was a silent signal of his choice because I don't believe that anyone that was loyal to him would make their preference known without asking John first his opinion. The fact that that endorsement came late in the game and then Edwards starting to make noise about his endorsement makes it known that is is on the herizon.
So what are they waiting on?
West Virginia. Obama is going to get stomped there, no ifs ands or buts. It'll be slightly embarrasing. It'll be to the point where pundits will start saying "Maybe he does need to put her on the ticket."
Then enters Edwards. He takes air out of Clinton's sails as for most of this election he has represented the working class whites that she claims to speak for. It is not a blow that would merit anything more than his spoken endorsement but would carry the media narrative to a different place. It would lend Obama the gravitas to move forward with minimal damage as well as give Edwards a platform for his new program about proverty. It also gives Obama a powerful surrogate that he can use to appeal to those in KY, MT, and ND. It also takes air out of her argument that he needs Clinton to appeal to those voters because their are others in the party that can appeal to them just as much if not more than Clinton can once she's out of the race.
This is why I think Obama has a major endorsement from Edwards coming on Wednesday, the day after WV. I may be totally wrong on this and regret writing this diary, but all hints being thrown out lead me to this direction.
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