Election losses for Dems might help Edwards' future chances
The Associated Press
November 12, 2002 1:49 am
Posted on 11/12/2002 5:22:11 AM PST by Constitution Day
The Associated Press
Election losses for Dems might help Edwards' future chances
November 12, 2002 1:49 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- U.S. Sen. John Edwards may suffer less damage from last week's Republican victories than other prominent Democrats considering runs for the White House in 2004, analysts say.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt -- top party officials who are considered presidential contenders -- face growing criticism within their party for surrendering the Senate and allowing Republicans to widen their control in the House.
Tied to a similar stake is former Vice President Al Gore, who campaigned for many of the Democrats who lost last week and also remains a considerable force within the party.
"There is definitely going to be a yearning at the grass-roots level for a new message and a new messenger," said Christopher Cooper, a Democratic strategist and native of South Carolina.
As the "fresh face" candidate, Edwards also could get a bounce from Democrats seeking anyone other than the more established Democrats who led their party into the political wilderness, several political observers noted.
"Could that fresh face be Edwards? Absolutely," Cooper said. "He certainly doesn't have the same baggage as the Daschles and the Gephardts coming out of this election."
It also doesn't hurt that Edwards hails from the South, which last Tuesday continued its trend of the last few decades of becoming more solidly Republican.
"This (election) really does emphasize that Democrats have to nominate a Southerner, particularly a guy as attractive across the boards as Edwards seems to be," said Burdett Loomis, a politics professor at the University of Kansas.
Edwards is already laying the groundwork to win votes in the South and rural areas west of the Mississippi River that traditionally vote for Republicans. His "rural strategy" -- which includes touring with a bluegrass band and sponsoring a race car -- is aimed at picking up votes that the Democratic Party has long neglected in favor of its more urban base.
Political tea-leaf readers don't see only positive signs for Edwards in the election results, however.
He needs to look no further than his own state for reasons to worry, said Ferrel Guillory, professor of political science at UNC Chapel Hill.
Last Tuesday, Democrat Erskine Bowles lost to Republican Elizabeth Dole by 9 percentage points even though he won 314 votes more than Edwards did in 1998.
"That's got to be really scary" for Edwards, Guillory said. "If he runs for re-election, he's going to have a hard fight."
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-287321.html
© Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. All material on heraldsun.com is copyrighted by The Durham Herald Company and may not be reproduced or redistributed in any medium except as provided in the site's Terms of Use.
Every so often, the Dems nominate someone from the looney left of the party (McGovern-72, Mondale-84). They are overdue.
The party's left wing thinks they lost the mid-term election because they didn't explain their positions clearly enough (translated to non-political jargon: we didn't stand up and proudly declare how liberal we were.) Any moderate presidential candidate is going to be attacked as the same type of candidate that lost in the mid-term elections.
Look for a Barbara Boxer or Nancy Pelosi type to be the Dem candidate in 2004.
ROFL!!!
Edwards and his vile lawyer industry is a collection of truly evil, corrupt, vile, rapacious vermin. Edwards" legal industry spits on the Constitution and ethics. They regard themselves as being above the law. Lawyers like Edwards steal and ruin lives without the slightest compunction.
These observations are shared by most Americans who regularly rate lawyers as having a level of confidence and respect at the absolute bottom of all professions and occupations. Edwards is the last person we would ever want as President: another lawyer/sociopath like Clinton.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.