The AP wastes no time, with the headline:
Edwards again apologizes for 2002 war vote: Says voters crave a president willing to admit errors and change course
Um, yeah. Dwelling upon the negative--the AP paints him at once defensive and error-prone.
Democrat John Edwards said Tuesday that honesty and openness were essential qualities for a president, and that he was proud to acknowledge his 2002 vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq was a mistake.
(Emphasis added)
What kind of idiot would say he's 'proud' of admitting a mistake? Hey, wait a second--that's the AP's word, not his!
Folks, tell me where John Edwards says he's 'proud' of anything in connection with that vote or his regrets over it. Hint: You won't.
Moving on, the AP really gets in a stinker:
Trolling for campaign cash on a three-day visit to New York - home of his chief Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton - Edwards spoke to reporters after attending a union-sponsored workshop on eradicating poverty.
Sweet Jesus.
Asked whether his repeated apologies for his vote would be a turnoff to voters over time, the 2004 vice presidential nominee said that after six years of President Bush, voters craved a president willing to acknowledge errors and change course if necessary.
Boy howdy, that's a fair question. "Senator Edwards, why don't you just shut the fuck up before you start pissing us, er, voters off?"
If you asked me what I think the most important personal characteristics of the next president are, I would say honesty, openness and decency," he said. "There's not a single voter in America who doesn't understand that their president is human, and their president will sometimes makes mistakes."
Guess what we're talking about here? That's right--John Edwards' mistake!
At a voter forum in Carson City, Nev., last week, Edwards said Clinton's decision not to disavow her vote was "between her and her conscience." He didn't mention her Wednesday, taking a swipe at President Bush instead.
Voters, the former North Carolina senator said, "want you to be willing to change course when something's not working. We've had six-plus years now of a president who is completely unwilling to do that."
His entire point is to attack Bush, but you wouldn't know it until this paragraph where his 'swipe' is mentioned.
But, the article does discuss Senator Clinton. Is the rhetoric similar?
For her part, Clinton's also had a busy fundraising week - thanks in part to an online effort by her husband, Bill Clinton.
In an e-mail to his wife's supporters last Wednesday, the former president launched a fundraising drive aimed at raising $1 million in a week. As of Tuesday afternoon, the campaign said it had brought in nearly $890,000.
You see, the Clinton's raise funds. John Edwards trolls for campaign cash.
If anyone still is wondering why Clinton told people demanding that she admit a mistake or apologize to Cheney themselves, here's why she didn't. Our media feast on what they perceive as weakness. Admit flaws, and they'll eat you alive.
UPDATE: Bumblebums reveals below that Beth Fouhy, who wrote this piece of offal, is a Stanford grad and bona fide hometown referee:
Beth Fouhy covers Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and state and national politics for The Associated Press, based in New York City. From 2003 to 2005,
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