[George W. Bush]

If Independents and Republicans heavily favored Edwards in Wisconsin, it's because they really preferred him to Kerry. That's a fact and it won't go away. Overall, Edwards is a more formidable candidate (even though he brings his own set of weaknesses), because he will appeal to the undecided / middle-of-the-road / moderate / independent voters who ultimately decide reasonably close elections.

Good points. Lurch just isn't an attractive candidate. There is something more appealing about Edwards. At least, Edwards doesn't remind me of Night of the Living Dead like Lurch does.

I think Edwards might be able to recapture a lot of Clinton's independent voters and liberal Republicans. And I think the Clintons prefer Edwards. There are signs with Kerry, just like with Dean, that he'll try to take over the party from Clinton control. So Edwards is still Hillary's stalking horse in this race.

[dpwiener]

At least, Edwards doesn't remind me of Night of the Living Dead like Lurch does.

I still don't know that much about Edwards. The possibility that an opportunistic trial lawyer might gain the Democratic nomination and perhaps the Presidency used to disturb me a lot. But measured against a borderline mental case like Dean, an over-the-line mental case like Clark, and an all-sides-of-the-line resort-to-anything-to-get-elected case like Kerry, Edwards looks sane and middling-honest by comparison. That's how bad things have gotten.

I know I'm not going to like the policies of any Democrat, but some Democrat is going to get the nomination, and that Democrat could win the election (even though the odds remain heavily in Bush's favor). I prefer a sane alternative to Bush as the Democratic nominee. I think the country could survive an Edwards Presidency, even if I didn't like the direction it took. I think the country could have survived a Gephardt or Lieberman Presidency. But I'm not so sure about a Kerry or Dean or Clark Presidency.

So at this point, for the sake of the country, I'm kind of hoping that Edwards will overtake Kerry. Yes, Edwards will be a tougher opponent for Bush, but Bush needs a tough opponent. Bush has some failures of his own to answer for, and he shouldn't get a free pass.

I like the fact that Edwards has so far run a relatively clean and upbeat campaign, with no vicious attacks on his opponents. He'll be tough for the Republicans to demonize, and he may find it politically advantageous to not demonize Bush. I would dearly love to see a contest in which the candidates are forced to debate real issues instead of spending all their time mudslinging. If Bush can't beat Edwards based on the issues, then he doesn't deserve to be President.