Reply #48: These were/are most of the Repub talking points from 2004

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Not saying that you are a Repub, but those points are almost word-for-word from the 2004 TPs used against Edwards. The questioning about what he had done for NC, the claims about constituent services, the framing of debate wrt Cheney's daughter, the assertions that he never did anything as Senator except run for President (your "lust for power") -- my Repub relatives all had exactly those talking points. (I haven't queried them on examples of how Dole and Burr are much better. Ha! BTW Helms probably had the most responsive staff operation. Doesn't change my dislike for him, though.)

I was unhappy that Edwards and other Dems voted for the IWR. I suspect that many of them really believed that, without the IWR Bush was ready to attack immediately and that the IWR might get the inspectors into Iraq and might prevent conflict, and possibly that the IWR required Bush to come back to Congress for concurrence with any actions. The "Secret" briefings that the Senators received in the run-up to the war were apparently grossly misleading. IMHO Edwards was not cynical enough when dealing with the Nixon retreads; he was a few years too young to have felt the full impact of Vietnam. I also think he might have benefited from the broader undergraduate education at UNC versus the more-focused one at NC State (showing my biases).

While Obama is an attractive candidate in many ways, I would be very surprised if he were to become our nominee this time (for lots of reasons, starting with how hard it is to win the Dem nomination on your first try). While Obama has some "buzz" over the last couple of years, I am suspicious of the super-hype of the last couple of months. The conservative pundits on the MSM are promoting him as about the only thing between HRC and the nomination. Why? Could it be an effort to make it harder for everyone except Obama and Clinton, neither of whom is beating the likely Repub candidates in recent polling?

Although the Edwards family lived around the corner from me last year, I personally would prefer Gore, if he were to run. Gore/Edwards would be quite an attractive ticket. Otherwise, I could enthusiastically support Edwards over Clinton or Obama. Obviously, I will support any Dem nominee over any Repub loser.