July 4th has come and gone. And now the primary campaign is truly underway. For months now I've been torn between John Edwards and Barack Obama. And while I am not allied with either camp, I am beginning to conclude that it's time for progressives to get behind Obama.
Obama was an early opponent of the invasion of Iraq, and he has a solid history of progressivism. On the other hand, Edwards is the only candidate who speaks openly and honestly about the divisions of race and class in this country. Not since RFK has a candidate spoken so forcefully about poverty. And while Edwards did vote for the Iraq war resolution, he conceded long ago that he made a grievous error in doing so.
And then there's Hillary. Like Edwards, she voted for the Iraq war resolution. But unlike Edwards, she has never admitted her mistake. It seems that her position on Iraq changes on a daily basis, driven presumably by her advisors' reading of the polls. Whatever this is, it isn't leadership.
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