But, but I thought Edwards was only pretending to oppose the war to become president!

[jackson_dem]

I read it right here from supporters of one candidate!

Edwards Joins Effort To Link Iraq, Economy

Today John and Elizabeth Edwards were joined by surrogates from MoveOn.org, SEIU, the Center for American Progress, USAction, VoteVets.org and Americans United for Change in a conference call to talk about a new joint project reports CBS News' Michelle Levi. The new initiative seeks to draw a link between the ongoing war in Iraq with economic concerns at home and the participants pledged to keep the issue at the forefront in the both presidential and congressional campaigns.

The coalition vowed to be a substantial voice this election year by targeting presumptive GOP nominee John McCain as the candidate who will continue Bush's policies in Iraq and by working on the ground in states and congressional districts where the incumbent is challenged by an anti-war candidate (including Democratic candidates). A surrogate from each entity outlined what their organizations plan to do individually.

Speaking from his home in North Carolina, John Edwards credited Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for continuing to make "clear they will end the war in Iraq" and said he "wants to make sure know they have a clear choice between a Democratic candidate who will end the war and the other choice … who will continue failed policies." Elizabeth Edwards reiterated her husbands concern about poverty, saying that the nation has "a limited amount of money, and we are spending too much on the war."

Vote Vets, an organization founded by military veterans, released a new ad which, according to the release, will have a limited run on cable in the Washington, DC area this week. The ad features an Iraq veteran with her infant son and alludes to McCain's comments that he's committed to staying in Iraq for a lengthy period of time. The veteran says, "this is my little boy. He was born a year after I came back from Iraq. What kind of commitment are you making to him? How about a thousand years of affordable health care, or a thousand years of keeping America safe? Can we afford that for my child, Senator McCain? Or have you already promised to spend trillions -- in Baghdad?"

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/02/25/politics/horserace/entry3874420.shtml

[jsamuel]

1. John Edwards is the real deal.

No doubt

[jackson_dem]

4. The same people who thought he was a phony thought Gore was in 2000

Now they pine for Gore. They will regret losing the chance to have President Edwards too in a few years.

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. I already regret it!

:-(

[gateley]

2. Was that charge honestly leveled against him?

:eyes:

Boy, we sure embarrass ourselves sometimes, don't we...

[jackson_dem]

3. Only a zillion times. Where were you?

[gateley]

5. Not paying attention to the bullshit, I guess.

I've become pretty adept at just bypassing those types of threads. It's better for my blood pressure. :)

[jackson_dem]

7. Hats off to you!

If you missed that you must have radar guided BS post detectors! :D

[cali]

8. no. it wasn't

the OP is blowing smoke. And if it was, it was certainly not done by more than a tiny handful and never pushed.

[Forkboy]

12. Yes, it was.

Was it often enough to be a big deal? Not really. But words to that effect we're said enough by those who didn't like him, and I can think of one poster still here who said it more than once. :shrug:

[zalinda]

18. Oh really, I certainly remember you talking about how

phony he was. Not only on one thread, but many threads.

zalinda

[cali]

6. I never saw anyone say that.

ever. The criticism was his original position and his embracing the bushco war plan.

[jackson_dem]

10. No need to revise history. Edwards is gone as a political threat to St. Obama

Many people, both in the blogosphere and the msm, claimed he changed his position on the war for political reasons, namely to become president.

[cali]

14. you're not doing anything to provide any evidence

All I can say, is that I didn't see it. And Edwards never was a threat to Obama.

On another subject, looks like you were flat wrong about Hill's chances in Vermont. I told you she didn't stand a chance here. He should beat her by 30 pts.

[jackson_dem]

15. "Barack Obama has never been criticized"

Provide evidence.

I am not going to fish for what is obvious. Ask any Edwards supporter...

Edwards was a threat to Obama. He was the only competition St. Obama had to become the alternative to Hillary. He was also a big threat to him in Iowa and had Edwards or Clinton won Iowa things would have turned out much differently. Even worse, a third in Iowa would have been a disaster for Obama.

[cali]

16. lol. if ifs and ands were pots and pans....

I deal with reality. the reality is Obama won. the reality is that you've been off on every prediction you've made. now how about that Vermont?

[jackson_dem]

19. Reality is Edwards was a threat to Obama and vice versa

The Patriots lost the Super Bowl. Using your odd logic that means they were never a threat to the Giants.

Really? List my predictions and let's see what my accuracy rate is.

Am I from Vermont? Speaking of predictions, how did I predict my state? Who won my state? Surely a fan of my predictions would know the answers.

[cali]

25. NJ was won by Clinton and seeing as it's literally her back yard

that was an easy one. And I never predicted he'd win there. You did say recently that she had a good chance in Vermont and that the demographics favored her. I knew that she NEVER stood a chance here. And anyway, can you see that it's over?

[jackson_dem]

28. I am originally from NJ but now live in Delaware. How'd I predict Delaware?

The lone 2008 poll here showed a dead heat. Either I was way off or predicting the trend correctly.

[Recursion]

23. Well, the charge I have seen...

...was the opposite, that he voted for the war for political reasons, namely to become president, and has since started advocating what he really believed all along. I was not aware of attacks that he was actually pro-war but was pretending not to be now for political reasons.

[Forkboy]

13. The key part is "I never saw". Maybe you didn't. I did.

:shrug:

[Skwmom]

9. They're looking ahead to 2008 or 2012.

[jackson_dem]

11. Are you serious?

I don't know so you may be an Edwards supporter who is being sarcastic.

Edwards is done as a presidential candidate, unless he gets on the ticket as veep and wins and then runs to succeed a successful Democratic president in 2016. Him getting on the ticket is unlikely and the other prerequisites are even more unlikely. He will never be president but he can still be a force for good in society like Gore has been since he left politics.

[Skwmom]

22. Yes I'm serious. Edwards has been running for President for years.

Voting for the IWR demonstrated how far Edwards and Clinton are willing to go to become President. Thus, I'm sure that both of them are already looking towards 2008 and 2012. Support of the netroots will be critical to any future Democratic run.

[jackson_dem]

29. He is done as a presidential prospect and knows it

He won't be taken seriously as a presidential candidate ever again. Who in modern times has run three times in a row as a serious contender?

Clinton is different since 2012 would be her second time but she is also done if she loses this year. If she couldn't win with all the advantages she had to start out this cycle she won't be able to win in the future and she won't get the fund-raising base needed to compete as a result.

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. This is funny, coming from a Hillary supporter.

Months of "Edwards supported the IWR" when he was still a viable candidate, meant to make him look like a flip-flopper, while at the same time excusing Hillary for supporting the IWR.

Obama didn't have a chance to vote one way or another! But look at Edwards! Hillary supported the IWR, and Edwards did too!

Now, when he's out of the race, you're convinced that his opposition was genuine? That he WASN'T just pandering to the populists when he apologized for the IWR vote?

[jackson_dem]

21. I always supported Edwards. You're missing the sarcasm in the subject line

[redqueen]

24. It won't stop.

But the good news is still just as good.

[andym]

26. This is a very smart strategy from Edwards (Iraq=economy)

This is a very smart strategy from Edwards (Iraq=economy).

I believe if the economy would have been as sour now as it will likely be next year, John Edwards would currently be the front runner or nominee.

As for the accusations of "phoniness", they were always silly and I believe they had little bearing on the outcome (although they reflected the lowest common denominator atmosphere of this forum and other internet boards.) In fact, if the media had taken John Edwards seriously, I believe the phoniness attacks would have been helpful to him as it would have given him needed media attention and he could have utterly destroyed such lightweight attacks on his integrity.

[xchrom]

27. recommend