I don't often write diaries. I certainly never thought I'd find myself writing one that would get me into the candidate wars. But this Edwards is playing Nader nonsense seems to be spreading, and I feel a need to respond.
The great irony of equating Edwards to Nader because he is staying in the primary is that it buys into the greatest fallacy of Nader's own third-party run: That if we elect a Democratic candidate it will be just as bad as electing the Republican.
The Democratic candidate in this case, of course, is Hillary Clinton. Some number of Obama supporters are urging Edwards to leave the race and his supporters to jump on board because Hillary Clinton will ruin the country just as surely as a Republican.
This is a dangerous meme, for a number of reasons. First and foremost is this: Whether or not Edwards drops out of the race before Denver, there is a very real possibility that Clinton will be our nominee for 2008. Edwards leaving the race does not, by any stretch of the imagination, make a clear straight path to the nomination of Barack Obama. Not every Edwards supporter will necessarily vote for Obama, and Clinton has a huge political organization that Obama supporters cannot take lightly in a two-person race.
So, I worry. Some number of Obama and Edwards supporters believe and promulgate the idea that Hillary Clinton is no better than any Republican. If that is true, how dedicated can they be to the party in the fall if after all the hard primary work is done, she wins the nomination?
Personally, I believe we have three good, strong, Democratic candidates for the presidency, and I will gladly support any of them in the months leading up to November. I am an Edwards supporter. I realize his chances of the nomination are longer than the other two. But because I think either of the other two candidates would be fine presidents who would further the Democratic cause, I can comfortably stick with the candidate I think would be the best president.
I know this is primary season, and we all want the best for our candidates and for them to win. But that does not mean we should not, as a group, keep in mind the larger goal is to win in November. To put a Democrat in the White House. This rhetoric that Clinton is just as bad as a Republican might be hard to put to rest if it continues.
That's my take on things. Peace to all; good luck to your candidate whomever he or she may be; and let's see a Blue 2008 when all of this rancor settles out.