The Ink-Pot and the Palette

Dodd has been really impressive lately, I agree. No chance in hell, but my respect for him his grown quite a bit since he started his campaign -- his latest is actually the most recent in a series of really smart and savvy moves. Who knows, maybe he really could be a contender?

But no, Edwards is and has been my guy since the 2004 primaries. He's made some missteps and I don't agree with him on a few things, but I think generally, he's a great candidate and could be a really terrific -- and soundly, genuinely progressive -- President. He has been speaking up, and speaking up regularly and loudly, about the war, FISA, torture, wiretapping, the economy, taxes, education, and of course his signature issue, poverty. That makes him the first candidate since Roosevelt to make tackling poverty a true cornerstone of his platform.

And of course, he's the ONLY candidate with a complete and comprehensive universal health care proposal. Not only that, but universal health care proponents have endorsed his proposal enthusiastically (check out Ezra Klein on this topic, as well as his study of the Edwards proposal for more info, and he has links to other sources and whatnot). What there is of Clinton's is almost a straight up copy of Edwards' (and his was announced and posted on his site months before hers). Obama says a lot of platitudes that are sure to get applause and states the obvious that we all agree about how insane our healthcare system is, and does some handwaving, but as for a real plan that he's put out there for critical examination? Nada.

But you know the media and how they decide who the frontrunners are and how the race will be defined and blah blah blah...Edwards can't seem to crack through that. (And in fact I've read several insider baseball type stories that reporters don't like him and don't like that he won't play the game with him, so they've cut him out of their little junior high popularity pageant.) They've decided on their narrative of Clinton vs. Obama and nothing's going to break them out of their little feedback loop. Edwards does have a very real shot of winning Iowa, but if he doesn't, I think that'll be the end of his candidacy (although the Feb 5th "national" primary might put him back in play, especially with Nevada; don't even get me started on the Iowa/New Hampshire thing).

And you know Al Gore has been and always will be my hero and my long history of loving him unreasonably, but I've known since the 2000 election that he wouldn't run again. I think that race broke his heart and I think he's finally made his peace with it. He's moved on and I think he's decided his role in saving the world is going to be different. So as much as I love him, and would campaign until there were blisters on my feet for him, I know he won't run.