Reply #12: It's Sour Grapes, Really

[iamjoy]

I like Edwards (I supported him in 2004 and this time around) and my first reaction to Kerry's endorsement of Obama was anger and bitterness. But then I took a deep breath and rethought it. Whatever negative characteristics I attached to Kerry (back in 2004), lack of integrity was not one of them. I didn't see him as petty either.

But, if you think Edwards is getting nothing out of this, you are naive. Now, getting something out of it doesn't have to be a direct quid pro quo. Perhaps Edwards is shrewd enough to time his endorsement when Obama's winning seems inevitable - no point in boarding a sinking ship. He timed it after the flood of high profile endorsements and when the primary activity is winding down - so it didn't get drowned out by other news stories. He timed it when his endorsement would become the story. All this gets him more media attention for his pet issue - poverty, which is on people's minds right now anyway what with high gas and food prices.

I don't think Edwards is a selfish, manipulative person - but he is a politician. That means he's crafty and going to try to work the system. Also, you don't run for president unless you have a highly inflated ego anyway.