aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Edwards testing the endorsement waters?

I was with the conventional wisdom in thinking that the natural choice for Edwards would be Obama; I even thought that a good choice for Obama would be Edwards. So I’m really not quite sure how to read this:

In deciding between his one-time rivals, Edwards appears deeply divided. Several former advisers likened his thought process to a heart-versus-head split - with his heart favoring Sen. Barack Obama’s strong message of change, and his head attracted to Clinton’s tested nature and commitment to tough fights.

Though he sometimes aligned himself with Obama - and against Clinton - as a candidate, several Edwards campaign insiders say the former senator began to sour on Obama toward the end of his own campaign, and ultimately left the race questioning whether Obama had the toughness needed to prevail in a presidential race.

Uh, well that is Hillary’s line. But more cynically:

[F]ormer campaign aides who have stayed in contact with Edwards say he is eager to play a major role in the race, and is mindful that his backing would only carry weight if it comes relatively quickly - before the March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio, which could effectively settle the nomination fight.

He also appears to realize that endorsing Clinton would likely carry the most weight, since it would be more unexpected and would provide a jolt of energy to a campaign that is suffering a rough patch, particularly in the wake of Tuesday’s election results, which saw Obama sweep Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Of course, he could pull a Gore and remain neutral. That would still leave one big question, what will Elizabeth do?