Another big victory for Obama
From the Times:
MACON, Ga. – Senator Edward M. Kennedy intends to endorse the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama during a rally on Monday in Washington.
The Kennedy endorsement has been underway for days, even before the outcome of the South Carolina primary. Mr. Kennedy told his decision to Mr. Obama on Thursday.
Since Ted Kennedy is rightfully considered a hero among American liberals, coming on the heels of Obama's landslide victory in South Carolina, this seems like a big deal. I'm not sure how much endorsements influence people, but something like this has the potential to make liberals more comfortable with the more moderate-seeming Obama.
posted by Jack McCullough at 2:57 PM
6 Comments:
John, it looks like Edwards is at the very least disadvantaged going into the next round of primaries, and it seems he will not win the nomination, which seems to be between Obama and Clinton. I would definitely support either if given the choice to back them or to back a Republican. I think I'm leaning toward Obama (although I may vote for Edwards in the primary). Who do you think you're going to vote for?
I've definitely been favoring Edwards. Assuming he's still in the race when we vote (Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March) I would probably still vote for him. It does seem pretty clear that he doesn't have a shot. On the other hand, if there's a chance of giving him influence in the convention or the campaign by adding to his delegate total (not that Vermont is going to make that much difference to that total) I'm probably still interested in doing that.
For years I've thought Obama is an attractive candidate. Of course, the R's will run a veiled racist campaign against him, especially in the South, so it's hard to predict how he'll do. He seems more conservative than I would like, and even though he was right on the war at the beginning, he hasn't done much, if anything, about it since he's been in the Senate. Still, you can't deny that he seems to be inspiring at least some people.
I think that Edwards would be my last pick right now. I liked his message a lot when I heard him speak at my School here, but you know, he'd be another white man! Having either Hillary or Obama would be better just because there are certain perspectives that they would be aware of and sensitive to that Edwards couldn't be. I wish a Native American would run for president.
I find it interesting that you and at least one of your readers supports John Edwards so strongly. Her in NC I have heard very little about him in recent months. He is clearly overshadowed by Clinton and Obama. As is often the case, familiarity may have bred contempt here. Many - even in the Democratic party here - see him as hypocritical. I don't know how much coverage this received nationally, but people made a big deal of his decision to purchase (build?) a huge home/estate in the Chapel Hill area. A rich man talking about the Poor Man - sounds very familiar. Is he genuine? Not sure. I think many people would like to vote for HIS wife.
I'm unconvinced by the charge that Edwards is phony.
Today I voted for Obama, but I vacillated a lot on this one. I essentially see him as a less conservative candidate than Clinton, and I have some bad reactionn to her personally. But I put a lot of credence in Paul Krugman's recent (and rather frequent) arguments that Hillary's health care proposal (probably tailored on Edwards') is much better than Obama's. So basically I'd prefer to see him wn, but I think it's a credible argument that she's got an edge on what's probably the most important issue.
One part of me loves to see a non-white man or a woman succeed in this, but another just wants the best candidate.
I don't think it's unreasonable to be torn between wanting a candidate with a certain profile and wanting the best candidate.
My grave concern - and I hope I'm wrong - is that the American electorate will have difficulty pulling the lever for either of the Dems, precisely because of their profiles. Clinton carries a lot of baggage, including her husband, her sometimes abrasive personality, and her gender. Obama is appealing and inspiring to some, but to others he is only Black.
Some people say that we have gotten beyond that, and I'd love to think that we have. I fear that on Election Day, McCain will look more attractive, both for what he is and for what he is not.
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