On February 6, just after John Edwards suspended campaigning, the chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party submitted his list of approved Democratic candidates' names to the State Board of Elections for the May 6 North Carolina primary. Edwards's name was not on it, and chairman Jerry Meek offered a mealy excuse to justify excluding the former Senator and 2004 nominee for Vice President. I said it was a boneheaded choice -- reinforced by the fact that Meek left Mike Gravel's name ON the primary ballot.

http://www.dailykos.com/...

Sometime last fall, after the escalation in Iraq and while the Democratic field of contenders was already plump and getting plumper, I had downright giddy conversations with friends about our chances in 2008. Man, o man. After what we'd seen and suffered for seven years, having had our long-ago predictions -- Dubya is the Anti-Christ, we said in 2000, well before the votes weren't counted -- proven true over and over again, 2008 was going to be the year of years for our beloved Democratic Party. Regardless of who the Republicans nominated, they could dress him up like Uncle Sam on odd days and Jesus Christ on even ones, and the Democratic nominee would win, hands down. The blowout in November might not reach Reagan-Mondale proportions, but it was going to leave bodies strewn, nevertheless. Wrongs were going to be righted. O, heady days.

A brief note in today's Washington Post tells us that John Edwards is still helping Democrats -- this time by raising money for the DSCC -- but (1), being the Washington Post, there can be only so much praise given to Edwards before heaping an equal amount of coals on his head, and (2) some of the reader comments at the end are more thoughtful than the item itself.

The item is here, written by Ben Pershing http://blog.washingtonpost.com/...

First, let me say I have never met Jerry Meek. Second, let me say that if I'd ever met Jerry Meek and had, for a moment, given him an ounce of respect, I'd not ever admit it after learning of the decision that became public today.

Jerry Meek, the chairman of the Democratic Party in North Carolina, chose -- of his own volition, intentionally, claiming to exercise what he interprets to be his "discretion" under state law -- to exclude John Edwards from the Democratic primary ballot. And why? Meek told reporter Rob Christensen that "no one with the [Edwards] campaign returned his calls."

Caution appears to be the theme of the evening between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, which is a grave disservice to me, to mine, to my community, to my state and my nation -- not to mention what passes for my party today. The chief result of John Edwards's departure from the primary race seems to be detente between the remainders on the field. Press your mute button, and they might as well be running mates already, whether it's Obama-Clinton or Clinton-Obama. The sweet pleas for Edwards voters weren't convincing, in my opinion.

I am reminded from long-ago college days of three kinds of drunks: first, the quiet, sullen sort who stew in their liquor, and second, the blathery, sloppy sort who give unattractive, cathartic declamations -- "I always loved you, man."

As a teetotaler, I tried to tolerate both the stares of the stewing sullen and the slurry orations of the swimmy-eyed seeking therapy. When the alcohol wore off, they might both be fine, but for tonight, they were drunk.

I slept fitfully last night. Couldn't get to sleep until well past one a.m., then tossed and turned between naps until the alarm rang this morning. But by that time, I'd devised a plan.

I did some things today I've never done before, and it's largely because of what I've witnessed this week in my state.

Here's the first of three parts of my diary for today; I hope you'll bear with me.

I explained here http://www.dailykos.com/... why I'll vote for John Edwards for the fifth time next Saturday. And I made another $250 contribution to his campaign on Friday morning. From my perspective, he's the only candidate I have. If he falls out of the race, who can I support? If he loses the nomination and isn't on the 2008 ticket, who can I support? Or, to put it in a little sharper focus: If either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee, what motivation do I have to even vote in the 2008 general election, given that there's no indication either will bring the kind of change that reflects my priorities, the kind that Edwards has promoted in this and his previous races?

Five hundred twenty-five more people in South Carolina have a reason to vote for John Edwards in 10 days.

I have some advice for the young men and women working for the John Edwards campaign in South Carolina, and I hope that it is taken in the spirit in which it's meant. I have already stated that I intend to vote for John Edwards -- for the fifth time -- a week from Saturday. And I've established my pro-Edwards bonafides: http://www.dailykos.com/... and http://www.dailykos.com/... I'm dyed in the wool.

So the question goes to Nevada, then comes here to South Carolina.

The results of the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary have set me pondering.

Former U.S. Senator John Edwards drew record attendance to a Spartanburg County Democratic Party rally at Memorial Auditorium tonight, as South Carolina Senator Glenn Reese called it the largest crowd he'd witnessed at such a function in his 17 years in public office.

Edwards, the keynote speaker at the rally, was also the only candidate to accept the invitation to attend it. Several but not all other candidates sent surrogates to speak for them. Appropriate to a Carolina political rally, the night's fare was barbecue and hash, cole slaw, baked beans and potato salad. Gustation was accompanied by the Lime Daddies, a Caribbean steel drum band from nearby Greenville.