MoJo Blog: Why Hasn't Obama Received Edwards' Endorsement?

[laststeamtrain]

Why Hasn't Obama Received Edwards' Endorsement?

Apparently because he blew it after Edwards' withdrawal from the race.

"Speaking to Edwards on the day he exited the race, Obama came across as glib and aloof. His response to Edwards’s imprecations that he make poverty a central part of his agenda was shallow, perfunctory, pat. Clinton, by contrast, engaged Edwards in a lengthy policy discussion. Her affect was solicitous and respectful. When Clinton met Edwards face-to-face in North Carolina ten days later, her approach continued to impress; she even made headway with Elizabeth. Whereas in his Edwards sit-down, Obama dug himself in deeper, getting into a fight with Elizabeth about health care, insisting that his plan is universal (a position she considers a crock), high-handedly criticizing Clinton’s plan (and by extension Edwards’s) for its insurance mandate."

I suspected something like this happened. Back in the salad days of this primary race, I wrote about how Edwards and Obama's messages overlapped to such a degree that they would fit naturally on the same ticket. Their shared rhetoric (and their shared attacks on Clinton) led most to assume Edwards would endorse the Illinois Senator if he endorsed anyone.

Now we know why Edwards' endorsement is still an open question...http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/03/7815_why_hasnt_obama.html
*

I'm usually a lurker here in GD:P but I thought this might be some tasty red meat. Snarl dogs, snarl!

[Kittycat]

1. This has already been chewed and rechewed.

[flpoljunkie]

6. Here's another interesting perspective on Edwards' lack of endorsement...

Swampland, TIME
March 31, 2008 4:49

Ha-ha, He Used "Obama" and "Blow" in the Same Sentence!
Posted by Ana Marie Cox

Though I think Noam makes a good point: It may not be Obama's self-presentation that failed to score the Edwards endorsement (per Heilemann), but Edwards's self-interest:

Early on, he wasn't sure Obama was tough enough to beat Hillary. Or to reassure voters and superdelegates that he'd be able to win the general. And what good does it do you to endorse a guy who's going to lose?

Since then, Obama's obviously become the favorite to win the Democratic nomination, which has changed Edwards's calculus. The risk is no longer endorsing a guy who may lose. (At least in the primaries.) It's that you won't get credit for helping Obama win. Endorsing Obama at this point would basically mean jumping on a bandwagon, and there's no percentage in that. So I'm guessing Edwards is biding his time until there's a moment when his endorsement would matter--for example, when it could help bump Hillary from the race. (Say, after a loss in the North Carolina primary.)

I, of course, am shocked to hear that a politician might do something out of self-interest.

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/03/haha_he_used_obama_and_blow_in.html

[Adelante]

8. It might be just as well

...an Edwards endorsement would actually hurt Hillary’s chances to win the state. A jarring 31 percent of North Carolina voters would be less likely to support Hillary if Edwards endorsed her. About one-third as many people (12 percent) say they would be more likely to vote for her after an Edwards endorsement. The poll didn't provide any numbers speculating what an Edwards endorsement would mean for Barack Obama.

These are really stunning numbers for a reasonably liked, homegrown senator who had a legitimate shot at becoming president. According to this poll, nearly one-third of North Carolina Democrats and unaffiliated voters dislike Edwards so much that he would taint Clinton’s candidacy. Barely one-tenth of voters like him enough to have it positively affect their opinion.

The cynic would suggest that Obama voters sabotaged the question by saying an endorsement would hurt Clinton, but the numbers don’t completely follow that logic. After crunching some cross-tabs, we discovered that 35 percent of those Clinton-Edwards sourpusses are currently Clinton supporters. We’ll reiterate: Edwards is so toxic that one-third of Hillary’s Carolinian base would think twice before voting for her. No wonder he and Kerry didn’t win North Carolina in 2004.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/trailhead/archive/2008/03/25/the-kiss-of-death.aspx

[noel711]

2. I heard that too.. but... I have reservations

believing all of it. If Obama and Edwards are such
people person, and willing to talk to anyone
and bring folks together.. how come it came to this?

Too many things missing from this..
And I know that Elizabeth really like OBama...

Not gonna swallow this meme until I know more.

[BeyondGeography]

3. Actually, he blew it when he left the Edwards campaign in the dust

Bad Barack, bad.

[Adelante]

9. I don't remember where I read it, but some blog back then

had it that Edwards' team had been trying to negotiate some kind of deal with Obama weeks before Edwards dropped out and Obama didn't go for it, whatever it was.

[DJ13]

4. So it boils down to Hillary was a good liar, Obama didnt try to lie to gain his support?

Im not saying Hillary told another sniper story, but when someone who's family has long been big supporters of free trade and corporate interests seems to "take an interest" in the issue of poverty in America, its a safe bet she was blowing smoke telling Edwards what she thought he wanted to hear.

[TheDonkey]

5. if that were the case, why hasn't he endorsed Clinton

is the better question. That's right, Clinton CANNOT win.

[whatchamacallit]

7. At this point Edwards' endorsement is about as important as mine

:boring:

[tritsofme]

10. The time for Edwards to make any big impact was before Super Tuesday.

Now it really doesn't matter.

[Lord Helmet]

11. gossip