NationStates Jolt Archive

He's clearly not going to win the nomination. He's a smart man, he must realise this.

So why is he still running?

Because at the moment, it looks like all he's doing is stealing votes from Obama... :(

He does realize he's got going to win anything, except a few votes from Clinton.

he is running to keep his message of support for the middle class out there.

too bad no one is listening.

now i guess he is running on ego and not knowing what else to do.

I think he's doing an awesome job of being the "grown up wing" of the Democratic party. With Hillary and Obama's help, The three of them'll hand the election to the Republicans again.

:p

He could quit the race and give his support to Obama or Clinton in exchange for being their running mate, seeing as how I don't think Obama or Clinton would run together.

Bingo.

He's running for VP again.

he is running to keep his message of support for the middle class out there.

too bad no one is listening.

now i guess he is running on ego and not knowing what else to do.

He could quit the race and give his support to Obama or Clinton in exchange for being their running mate, seeing as how I don't think Obama or Clinton would run together.

He's clearly not going to win the nomination. He's a smart man, he must realise this.

So why is he still running?

Because at the moment, it looks like all he's doing is stealing votes from Obama... :(

I'll agree with Ashmoria, it could very much be an ego/ self-delusion type of thing. Not to mention there are some people who really don't know when to quit. Or maybe he wants to drag Obama down.

Um, I think it's a little quick to be saying Edwards is only running on ego and doesn't know when to quit. Until South Carolina, there was still some question as to whether Obama and Clinton would undermine each other enough to let Edwards steal the limelight from both of them. Now it seems Obama has firmly won the front-runner conflict and that Clinton has severely harmed her own image by her Rove-esque tactics. But this is all as of what -- yesterday? Give the man a chance to show whether he knows what he's doing or not.

I think Edwards has three options at this point:

1) Forget about Clinton and go after Obama. I think this would be a major mistake. Obama now has such momentum -- especially compared to Edwards -- that he'd be crazy to think he can overtake him. He would only make himself look bad and hurt his credibility in future political endeavors. If he really thinks Obama could still lose the nomination by screwing something up, then Edwards should just coast along quietly in the background and wait.

2) He can "ninja" for Obama by attacking Clinton in order to push her farther back. This would ensure Obama's nomination instead of Edwards', but it would allow Edwards to cast himself in the role of "party unity guy #2".

3) Edwards can withdraw from the race.

Give it a few days or weeks, and we shall see what he does.

I am disappointed that Edwards did not click with primary voters because he was my first choice candidate, but Obama was my second choice, so it's all good, as far as I'm concerned.

By the way, regarding the suggestion that Edwards could make a deal to endorse Obama or Clinton in exchange for the vice-presidency, I don't know for sure, but I think such a deal would not be allowed.

He could quit the race and give his support to Obama or Clinton in exchange for being their running mate, seeing as how I don't think Obama or Clinton would run together.

none of the 3 would pick either of the other 2 as running mates.

the VP will be someone tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of whoever gets the nomination.

This sounds bad at first.

But look through the voting analysis of the South Carolina primary. Note how the vote was split. Obama did not lose votes to Edwards. Hillary did.

Edwards knows at this point he is not viable as the POTUS, so he is going to try to get the VPOTUS nomination, like he did last election. And in order to do that, he will need to support one candidate or the other.

And he sees which way the wind is blowing. He knows that Obama is more likely to win than Hillary, and he also probably knows that Obama is the better candidate. So he is intentionally staying in the race not to try to win, but to spoil Hillary's chances and seal the deal for Obama.

Mark my words. He's going to steal key numbers of delegates from the various primaries on Super Tuesday, then bow out and give them all to Obama.

Muryavets also suggests interesting stuff, as usual.

none of the 3 would pick either of the other 2 as running mates.

the VP will be someone tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of whoever gets the nomination.
This is true, but it's sad, because there are/were several people among the Dems who I think would be great cabinet members.

I often wish we could go back to the old way of doing things, when there were no running mates, and the vice-president was the guy who lost the general election. :)

none of the 3 would pick either of the other 2 as running mates.

the VP will be someone tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of whoever gets the nomination.

My sources say Obama might take this woman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius
-governor of KANSAS
-FEMALE
-Washington OUTSIDER
-popular MODERATE
-works BIPARTISAN

What's not to love?

Originally Posted by Kyronea
This sounds bad at first.

But look through the voting analysis of the South Carolina primary. Note how the vote was split. Obama did not lose votes to Edwards. Hillary did.

Edwards knows at this point he is not viable as the POTUS, so he is going to try to get the VPOTUS nomination, like he did last election. And in order to do that, he will need to support one candidate or the other.

And he sees which way the wind is blowing. He knows that Obama is more likely to win than Hillary, and he also probably knows that Obama is the better candidate. So he is intentionally staying in the race not to try to win, but to spoil Hillary's chances and seal the deal for Obama.

Mark my words. He's going to steal key numbers of delegates from the various primaries on Super Tuesday, then bow out and give them all to Obama.
Muryavets also suggests interesting stuff, as usual.
Thanks. :) Your suggestion is also good, though I'm not sure whether I'd bet on it. Edwards plays his cards very close to his vest, and it is hard to tell what he might do to support any other candidate. Maybe that is one of the things people do not like about him, though it does not bother me.

He's clearly not going to win the nomination. He's a smart man, he must realise this.

So why is he still running?

Because at the moment, it looks like all he's doing is stealing votes from Obama... :(

Cuz every dollar spent on his losing campain is 2 people starving, and writhing in pain.

My sources say Obama might take this woman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius
-governor of KANSAS
-FEMALE
-Washington OUTSIDER
-popular MODERATE
-works BIPARTISAN

What's not to love?

she does have appeal. if she can get elected in kansas--a solidly conservative state-- she can help balance obama's liberalism.

im thinking he needs someone with military and foreign policy experience. i dont know who that might be though.

He's clearly not going to win the nomination. He's a smart man, he must realise this.

So why is he still running?

Because at the moment, it looks like all he's doing is stealing votes from Obama... :(

He is running for VP. If he gets enough delegates and neither have enough he can make a deal. Who knows, we could have two brokered conventions this year. Super Tuesday could be the make or break day for brokered conventions.

What's not to love?This bit:
Sebelius said she supported the existing state law outlawing same-sex marriage...

My sources say Obama might take this woman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius
-governor of KANSAS
-FEMALE
-Washington OUTSIDER
-popular MODERATE
-works BIPARTISAN

What's not to love?

you make good points but for one thing, she's 60 years old, she'l be pushing up the daisies in a few years.
Of course failing that i nominate myself, because i have no experience of politics whatsoever, and i'm not a lawyer either, or and astronaught come to think of it, but one day i could be.:cool:

I think he's doing an awesome job of being the "grown up wing" of the Democratic party. With Hillary and Obama's help, The three of them'll hand the election to the Republicans again.

:p

If Obama and McCain win the nominations the Republicans could very well win. With McCain as the Republican candidate, many more moderate Democrats would be likely to cross over and vote for him rather than vote for Obama. If Obama and Huckabee win the nomination who knows what will happen. Moderate Democrats will be less likely to cross over and many of them just might stay home rather than vote for Obama.

This might be a very interesting election year.

In any case http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/Celtlund/defeat.gif

By the way, regarding the suggestion that Edwards could make a deal to endorse Obama or Clinton in exchange for the vice-presidency, I don't know for sure, but I think such a deal would not be allowed.
It wouldn't be an actual official deal, though, more like a (publicly) unspoken agreement. I actually thought this was how it worked all the time. <<

none of the 3 would pick either of the other 2 as running mates.You think so? Boo. I would have liked to see Edwards as the VP.

you make good points but for one thing, she's 70 years old, she'l be pushing up the daisies in a few years.
1948. She'll be 60 in May. She's one year older than Hillary.

And I thought math wasn't my strong suit. ;)

1948. She'll be 60 in May. She's one year older than Hillary.

And I thought math wasn't my strong suit. ;)

er....um she's still pretty old though. right?
I take a democratic view of maths, if a 60 wants to be a 70 with enough votes it can be and seeing as i'm the only voter what i say goes.:p
i was only testing you......

Um, I think it's a little quick to be saying Edwards is only running on ego and doesn't know when to quit. Until South Carolina, there was still some question as to whether Obama and Clinton would undermine each other enough to let Edwards steal the limelight from both of them. Now it seems Obama has firmly won the front-runner conflict and that Clinton has severely harmed her own image by her Rove-esque tactics. But this is all as of what -- yesterday? Give the man a chance to show whether he knows what he's doing or not.

I think Edwards has three options at this point:

1) Forget about Clinton and go after Obama. I think this would be a major mistake. Obama now has such momentum -- especially compared to Edwards -- that he'd be crazy to think he can overtake him. He would only make himself look bad and hurt his credibility in future political endeavors. If he really thinks Obama could still lose the nomination by screwing something up, then Edwards should just coast along quietly in the background and wait.

2) He can "ninja" for Obama by attacking Clinton in order to push her farther back. This would ensure Obama's nomination instead of Edwards', but it would allow Edwards to cast himself in the role of "party unity guy #2".

3) Edwards can withdraw from the race.

Give it a few days or weeks, and we shall see what he does.

I am disappointed that Edwards did not click with primary voters because he was my first choice candidate, but Obama was my second choice, so it's all good, as far as I'm concerned.

By the way, regarding the suggestion that Edwards could make a deal to endorse Obama or Clinton in exchange for the vice-presidency, I don't know for sure, but I think such a deal would not be allowed.

if edwards cant make a good showing in his home state, he's done. its not like there are polls showing that he has tremendous support in the super tuesday states.

he has spent a ton of time and money and has only a tiny handful of delegates to show for it.

the only reason to stay in for super tuesday is that its so close that he may as well.

and given edwards anemic showing, i dont think that his endorsement is worth a vp spot.

er....um she's still pretty old though. right?
I take a democratic view of maths, if a 60 wants to be a 70 with enough votes it can be and seeing as i'm the only voter what i say goes.:p
i was only testing you......

60 isnt old for the actual job.

the problem with 60 is that the VP is set up to be the next presidential candidate for the party. dont argue, its just the way it works.

so if obama were to take 2 terms, she would be too old at 68 or 69 to withstand the rigors of the presidency. or maybe she wouldnt run at all.

its better to pick someone who is presidential material. thats not what actually happens of course, the candidate picks someone whose best qualification is coming from another part of the country, but it would be the best consideration in a thoughtful future president.

60 isnt old for the actual job.

the problem with 60 is that the VP is set up to be the next presidential candidate for the party. dont argue, its just the way it works.

so if obama were to take 2 terms, she would be too old at 68 or 69 to withstand the rigors of the presidency. or maybe she wouldnt run at all.

McCain is 72 and is running so, why couldn't she at 68 or 69?

My sources say Obama might take this woman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius
-governor of KANSAS
-FEMALE
-Washington OUTSIDER
-popular MODERATE
-works BIPARTISAN

What's not to love?

Well, I'm not sure I like the way she looks at gun control. She has the right idea--keep criminals from possessing firearms and keep firearms from being in the hands of children who don't know what they're doing--but as usual goes the wrong way about it, adopting a more "protect people from firearms" stance than my preferred "make people responsible for legal firearms" stance.

But then no Democrat currently takes the stance I'd like on that, so meh.

In any case, she does sound better to me than Edwards does, and would be far superior to Clinton.

Thanks. :) Your suggestion is also good, though I'm not sure whether I'd bet on it. Edwards plays his cards very close to his vest, and it is hard to tell what he might do to support any other candidate. Maybe that is one of the things people do not like about him, though it does not bother me.

I like that, actually. What would bother me is why someone does that. It would make sense for a candidate who could potentially be rather controversial--say, an atheist--to be careful with what they do, but if someone's doing that because they just want power and are hiding something that would show they do not deserve it, then it's a bad thing.

Unfortunately, I can't rate Edward's possible motivations, so I can't say whether Edwards is doing the right thing or not.

McCain is 72 and is running so, why couldn't she at 68 or 69?

Exactly. That logic would have worked thirty years ago, but not today, and especially not with the way medical technology will advance in the next ten years.

With McCain as the Republican candidate, many more moderate Democrats would be likely to cross over and vote for him rather than vote for Obama.Only if by "moderate Democrats" you mean Dixiecrats, which given the result in South Carolina wouldn't matter. Obama isn't as polarizing as Clinton and attracts the younger voters and the minority vote. With a good pick for Vice President, there is no way McCain could overtake him. Especially after having been torn up for the past 2 or 3 election cycles.

If Obama and Huckabee win the nomination who knows what will happen. Moderate Democrats will be less likely to cross over and many of them just might stay home rather than vote for Obama.
Again, if by "moderate Democrats" you mean "Dixiecrats."

he is running to keep his message of support for the middle class out there.



Nooooooo...he's running for VP spot.

If he's able to get enough delegates, he can disrupt the nomination process, and turn himself into a kingmaker.

McCain is 72 and is running so, why couldn't she at 68 or 69?

mccain is too old.

so are paul and gravel.

mccain is too old.

so are paul and gravel.
No. No they're not. Age is not what it used to be.

I'm not saying they could handle it like they were twenty, but I am saying that they can most definitely handle it. Medical technology and understanding of nutrition allows us to be much healthier at that sort of age than we ever could have been before.

No. No they're not. Age is not what it used to be.

I'm not saying they could handle it like they were twenty, but I am saying that they can most definitely handle it. Medical technology and understanding of nutrition allows us to be much healthier at that sort of age than we ever could have been before.

no its really too old when you are in your 70s. we're not talking about nice retired folks playing golf every day. we are talking about the highest pressure job in the world where you are lucky to get 5 hours of sleep a night.

after reagan we should have learned our lesson about age.

if mccain gets the job i sure hope he picks a VP who is ready to take the job at a moments notice.

Only if by "moderate Democrats" you mean Dixiecrats,

Again, if by "moderate Democrats" you mean "Dixiecrats."

No, by moderate Democrats, I'm referring to all moderate Democrats in the US, not just those living in the South. :rolleyes:

mccain is too old.

so are paul and gravel.

Reagan was 70 when he took office. He did a damn good job for eight years. No, 70ish isn't to old.

He's clearly not going to win the nomination. He's a smart man, he must realise this.

So why is he still running?

Because at the moment, it looks like all he's doing is stealing votes from Obama... :(

He's being an irrelevant fool, that's what.

Edwards is once again trying to get the Veep nod, knowing that he can't win the dem nomination.

No, by moderate Democrats, I'm referring to all moderate Democrats in the US, not just those living in the South. :rolleyes:
And why would "moderate Democrats" vote for a Republican Bush ass-kisser as opposed to a non-polarizing, popular Democrat?

Have none of you heard of "spoiler" before? Edwards doesn't have many delegates, and won't have too many by the end, but he should have enough delegates to throw the election to either Obama or Hillary. That makes him pretty darn powerful.

And just as in 2004, make him a pretty atractive Veep candidate.

Reagan was 70 when he took office. He did a damn good job for eight years. No, 70ish isn't to old.

Uh, I wouldn't call the job he did damned good (in fact I would go so far as to call it absolutely horrible) but the key is that he did not suffer age related problems. He did suffer from being shot, however.

Either way, though, it on its own is not enough evidence. Reagan was just one man. So it needs to be tested again.

But I'd rather not test it with McCain, because I don't like him.

Have none of you heard of "spoiler" before? Edwards doesn't have many delegates, and won't have too many by the end, but he should have enough delegates to throw the election to either Obama or Hillary. That makes him pretty darn powerful.

Have none of you heard of "spoiler" before? Edwards doesn't have many delegates, and won't have too many by the end, but he should have enough delegates to throw the election to either Obama or Hillary. That makes him pretty darn powerful.

Err, yes, actually we have. In fact, I said as much quite a bit earlier.

Err, yes, actually we have. In fact, I said as much quite a bit earlier.

Er. . .well, have any of you heard someone succinctly described as a spoiler? Well, have you?!

Er. . .well, have any of you heard someone succinctly described as a spoiler? Well, have you?!

No. Thank you for succinctly describing it for us. :)

Reagan was 70 when he took office. He did a damn good job for eight years.

Bwahahahahaha! $1 trillion debt says hi.

He's clearly not going to win the nomination. He's a smart man, he must realise this.

So why is he still running?

Because at the moment, it looks like all he's doing is stealing votes from Obama... :(

It's nice to have a back-up non-Hillary candidate in case Obama gets hit by a truck or something. Always keep a spare. *nod* :)

He's clearly not going to win the nomination. He's a smart man, he must realise this.

So why is he still running?

Because at the moment, it looks like all he's doing is stealing votes from Obama... :(

1) If he makes the race close he is in a position to jockey for influence with whoever wins indebting that candidate to him. e.g. He throws his support behind Obama and he gets to be VP or Secretary of State.

2) The longer he runs the more the other candidates have to make their positions like his own to compete for his voters. Obama's platform is already a lot closer to John Edwards than it was a year ago.

3) As long as he remains a "top tier" candidate, even in 3rd place, he increases his fame and becomes an attractive personality in the private sector.

no its really too old when you are in your 70s. we're not talking about nice retired folks playing golf every day. we are talking about the highest pressure job in the world where you are lucky to get 5 hours of sleep a night.

The older you get the less sleep you need. Teenagers will sleep 10 to 11 hours a day if you let them (though it will be from 3:00 am to 2:00 pm). 70 year olds frequently sleep 5-6 hours.

And before 9-11 Dubya spent 40% of his time on his vacation ranch in Texas.

He thinks that the Dem nomination might end up with no overall winner and he can do those deals in smoky rooms and get something out of it.

Edwards is trying to become the next president of the United States of America. And that could very well still happen.

Or am I just deluding myself?

He's clearly not going to win the nomination.

Why?

He's a smart man,


Oh, right. :(

Edwards is trying to become the next president of the United States of America. And that could very well still happen.

Or am I just deluding myself?

yes you are deluding yourself. not as much as the ron paul supporters but its still delusional.

she does have appeal. if she can get elected in kansas--a solidly conservative state-- she can help balance obama's liberalism.

im thinking he needs someone with military and foreign policy experience. i dont know who that might be though.

John Kerry? HAHAHAHAHA, I made a joke.

Seriously though, there would be few better ways to spectacularly lose a campaign. (implicitly than having John Kerry as your running mate... then again he might flip-flop later and decide he didn't want to be VP anyway... after all he only flip-flopped like a dozen times during the course of the '04 election, it's not like four years of consistancy would be too much to ask) :rolleyes:

Edwards is trying to become the next president of the United States of America. And that could very well still happen.

Or am I just deluding myself?

:(

It's abit of delusion...

But look on the brightside: you know who will be kicked out by this time next year!

Edwards has always had the desire to be the one who reminds the public, through his continued candidacy, of the issues about which he is passionate. He seeks to make sure those issues (usually those of poverty and income gaps -- the "two Americas" speech) aren't left behind because he's not there to bring them up in debates and appearances anymore.

He could also be trying to set himself up for a vice presidency by showing that he still matters, even if it's third place. Why? 'Cause it seems likely that neither Clinton nor Obama would accept the other's offer of the vice presidency.

Hes going to screw Hilary as much as possible and than throw in with Obama in exchange for the VP spot.


If you notice, in 99% of all the spats between Billary and Obama, Edwards sides with Obama (when he takes a side).

Bingo.

Hes going to screw Hilary as much as possible and than throw in with Obama in exchange for the VP spot.


If you notice, in 99% of all the spats between Billary and Obama, Edwards sides with Obama (when he takes a side).