John Edwards bows out

BE-ELECTED
by Chad Rubel

The brokered convention strategy, the staying in the race to keep the other candidates honest, the potential to be a kingmaker (or queenmaker) -- these seemed viable reasons to be in the race.

Now, barring a last-minute appearance from a white male, the Democratic Party nominee for 2008 will be either a) a woman or b) an African-American male. (Sorry, Mike Gravel.)

I thought he would be the 2004 nominee in 2002, when my non-political friends had no idea about this Senator from North Carolina. The 2004 campaign showed promise, but this campaign had a few problems. Ironically, on the issues, he did a better job in 2008.

Whether this is Edwards' last presidential campaign is debatable, and perhaps too soon to speculate. Sometimes, timing is crucial to ultimately being the nominee. Edwards ran a hell of a campaign in 2004, but lost out on the experience factor. Then after gaining that experience in running, and you would have figured that he would be a viable alternative to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama stole that thunder.

It's also a little sad since one of his greatest strengths, his wife, Elizabeth, and perhaps the reason he stayed in the race this long, may not be around 4 or 8 years from now to see whether he tries again.

John Edwards brought a shining light to people who have been long neglected by the federal government. For that, we owe him a great deal of thanks. And we hope that his light continues to shine on them.

Recent speculation has linked John Edwards to a possible reward as Attorney General in a Democratic nomination. The John Edwards we have seen on the campaign trail would make a great Attorney General. We could do (and have done) a lot worse.

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