If a candidate can be pressured out of the race...

[MonkeyFunk]

isn't it good to know NOW rather than later? Would such a candidate make a good President if he can be so easily cowed?

A number of people are stating that Edwards was pressured to get out of the race. So he'd give up his life's work and his aspirations because some party bigwig urged him to? I don't believe it for a second, and if by some chance it WERE true, then good. The pressures on a President are much greater than those on a candidate. I don't want a president who quietly caves to such pressure.

[PeaceNikki]

1. I don't believe it, either.

But, I don't own one of these: :tinfoilhat:

[Adelante]

2. I don't know why he got out of the race

It could be because he saw himself unable to win in the end. It could be some personal reason. But he's supposed to be some kind of big fighter, so I don't see why anybody who supports him concludes he bent to pressure from party bigwigs. It doesn't add up.

[MonkeyFunk]

3. exactly

it's a way to blame some external force for his failure to do well. It's pretty typical.

They think it just CAN'T possibly be that he didn't do well in the primaries - there has to be some hidden, nefarious force behind his dropping out.

[LowerManhattanite]

9. Sometimes...it IS what it IS.

Not enough states won, prospects dimming. Maybe just deciding to sacrifice the dream for family when things look a bit bleak.

As much as I like JE, I can understand the decision.

[shraby]

4. If he was pressured out, he owes it to the

voters to tell them all what happened in order for them to make an informed decision on who to vote for. To do anything else is deceitful.

[MonkeyFunk]

5. Many people here believe

evil, dark things happen and nobody ever talks about them. Edwards was pressured out, but he keeps mum. Carville betrayed Kerry and threw the election to Bush, but nobody in the Kerry camp has ever said a word about it.

It's silly.

[JDPriestly]

6. If Edwards was forced out, it suggests to me that the folks

forcing him out are bullies. I've had enough of bullies in the White House.

If you are trying to get Edwards supporters to support either Hillary or Obama, your post is counterproductive and reflects the meanness of your candidates.

As for Hillary, why didn't she fight for the female employees of Walmart while she sat on the Walmart board?

As for Obama, what is with the Harry and Louise ads? Isn't that some sort of copyright infringement? If so, why aren't the health insurance companies enforcing their rights?

[MonkeyFunk]

7. I'm not trying to get anyone to do anything

don't be daft.

I'm discussing the belief that Edwards was forced out. I think the belief is nonsensical, but if it WERE true, then I'm glad we found out now instead of later.

Nothing in this thread refers to Clinton. You're arguing with my avatar, which is just plain stupid.

[LowerManhattanite]

8. I can empathize with the feeling of abandonment...

...and the anger of seeing a lot of work seemingly go for naught when a campaign one has invested a lot in physically and emotionally just...ends.

I can understand the venting. The hard words. Even the venom.

But there is an odd “personality cult-ism” I'm starting to see around some of the more rabid Edwards supporters. And that's a helluva thing considering the almost “messianic” ways of the really fervent Obama and Hillary people around here. Edwards was supposed to be the antidote for all of that, and now in his “suspension of campaign” he has been elevated to that status too, by not a few people.

I liked Edwards. I think he was actually the near-perfect medium between the “charm” of Obama and the “policy wonk”-iness of Clinton. But he just didn't pull the votes. I haven't seen any talk of election rigging against him, so the SC results must have been quite bruising. It was his back yard and he sadly got trounced. There should be anger. Anger at the media for not having the attention span or integrity to devote a decent amount of time to ALL three major candidates. Anger maybe over easily swayed “magpie” (shiny-thing attracted) voters who overlooked Edwards.

But I guess the reality is that campaigns end—in spite of the best efforts of decent candidates. Adlai Stevenson, Hubert Humphrey, Ed Muskie and Wes Clark come to mind. Either the votes come or they don't.

It's not always some nefarious plot by a “Star Chamber”, or “The Cigarette Smoking Man” and his J. Press-suited cronies. Obama ain't God, Hillary ain't Joan of Arc, and John Edwards ain't Jesus. We can't worship them through these tropes and ascribe perfect deity status to them. They're human beings. They are POLITICIANS. They sometimes make politically pragmatic decisions. They weigh time, money, and calculate reasonable results based on the expenditure of said things. The “he would NEVER do that”, “he didn't write that farewell speech”, and re-casting of Kennedy—who a lot of people mocked around here until he backed Obama—into being some sort of lightning-tossing, campaign-ending Zeus on high is a bit hard on the believability meter.

I'm not being mean when I say this: If mere “pressure” from someone or something (outside of death or outright ruination) can sway a so called “perfectly principled” candidate to abandon his justice-fueled campaign, then I guess I'd look askance at at said candidate's “perfect principles”. As I don't think any of them have that trait, I'm going with a pragmatic decision's having been made.

A depressing, annoying pragmatic decision, but sometimes...it is what it is.

[TheDonkey]

10. I'm sure there were people in the DNC wanting him to move out

this is politics not pattycake. It's got dark sides too. Ultimately it was up to Edwards though. No matter what "pushing" was given it isn't like Howard Dean put a gun to his head. JE saw the ultimate writing on the wall.

[MonkeyFunk]

11. I agree...

there's no reason to think something sinister happened. The numbers tell the tale.

[JI7]

12. i think it's easier to believe that

and view your candidate as having been wronged rather than accepting they just weren't getting the support of voters.

[jacksonian]

13. Edwards has nothing to apologize for

he would have made a good pres, but his bowing out was simply political reality.

The bottom line about his campaign was this: you need a political base of people who have voted for you and liked you enough to re-elect you. That was the one thing missing on John's resume - no one had ever voted him into office, liked him, and sent him back. He has had very little realworld political experience, and little electoral gravitas to leverage the attention he needed.

Ideas are good, his were laudable, but ideas alone will not resonate in a media full of people who will say anything.