John Edwards Should Back Hillary Clinton, Grab the VP Nomination

The South Carolina Democratic primary is tomorrow. There's barely any need for predictions. Barack Obama is going to take SC by a landslide.

However, some interesting politics are brewing all around the SC primary and the around-the-corner Super Tuesday. The dominoes are starting to line up.

Here's some bits:

• Barring a miracle, Barack Obama will win South Carolina


• This will be good for Hillary Clinton in the long run


• Also, while it looks like Bill Clinton is way too aggressive, I believe it is an intentional gambit to make a dividing line in the images of Hillary and Bill.

Recently, I have been paying quite a bit more attention to John Edwards. While it seems his presidential hopes are being dashed against the rocks, I also think that we could very easily see him on the ticket as Vice President.

Here's some interesting news about John Edwards:

• Here you can compare all candidates broad positions on the major campaign issues. If you look closely, you can see that Clinton and Edwards hold the most similarities, although all three front runners are pretty compatible overall.


• There has been some back-and-forth between Edwards and both Clinton and Obama, but in all instances, it seems that Clinton was contacted first, and has had more visible interaction with Edwards


• In spite of his 3rd place standing on the campagin trail thus far, Edwards may well be the kingmaker of the democratic nomination.
  MY OPINION: I think Edwards has a serious disadvantage in that: the Democratic party takes the risk of looking too conservative by supporting a white man over a white woman or a black man


• With Barack Obama's image under fire, and the mud-slinging between Clinton and Obama taking the spotlight, Edwards is shining through as the voice of peace and reason


• This article gives a pretty good breakdown of the campaign to date, and further illustrated Edwards as the key decider in the Clinton / Obama split

I think that the Democratic strategy overall is as focussed as the GOP (dare I call it) strategy seems to be waffling and divided. Regardless of who wins the democratic nomination, the party in general is ready for a serious throw-down in November; they are going to zero in on a winning ticket as soon as possible. The Clinton vs. Obama question is going to be settled no later than February 5th, and the steady momentum of the Clinton campaign is most likely going to win the day. In spite of the Iowa upset, Hillary Clinton has been the most favored candidate for the Democratic nomination since the beginning, and that has never changed. Both Obama and Edwards have enjoyed brief surges in popularity; the main difference between the two in this arena is that Obama's numbers have been all over the board, whereas Edwards has consistently maintained the same base of support.

Hillary Clinton / John Edwards is a winning ticket. Indisputably, John Edwards has the strongest numbers in head-to-heads against the GOP likely, John McCain. If, by some distant chance, another GOP candidate manages to secure the Republican nomination, the stakes are dramatically lowered, as all three Democratic front runners soundly beat any of them. Assuming that it will be McCain, and with Hillary Clinton steam-rolling her way through the Democratic primaries, she needs someone who shows strong numbers against McCain. Both Obama and Edwards poll against McCain better than Clinton, and Edwards is the strongest overall. Additionally, I feel that the rivalry between Clinton and Obama has been too bitter for them to make a sound pair; I feel that they would be seen as a political "power couple" rather than a team, and their hostility on the campaign trail for the nomination would never be forgotten. Edwards on the other hand has remained calm and collected for the most part, even showing a jocular humor on the David Letterman Show, and has contained his criticisms of his opponents relevant to his own campaign.

All three front runners, Clinton, Obama and Edwards have remained tight-lipped when questioned about a running mate. I think partly this is because all three of them are viable choices. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have both stated that they would not be interested in taking a VP nomination, whereas Edwards has taken this concession before, and I believe he would take it again. Moreover, if Obama has already stated he would not run as VP, he is effectively ruled out as an option for Clinton. Once more, enter John Edwards.

SIDE NOTE: It would be easier for Barack Obama to accept another cabinet post like Secretary of State, and would be more in keeping with any presidential hopes post-Hillary Clinton. Out of 16 Senators in US History who have become President, 6 of them were Secretary of State first, whereas only 2 of them were Vice President. Also, only four sitting Vice Presidents have ever been elected President: the last to succeed was George H. W. Bush in 1988, before that, the most recent was Martin Van Buren in 1836, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams being the other two. One in the modern era.

It is my strong hope and belief that by the time the true Presidential campaign is underway, we will see a combined Clinton / Edwards ticket. The United States cannot afford another minimum of four years GOP misadventure. The strongest pairing needs to be picked from the fray, and the Democratic party needs to keep at least one eye on the long run. Barack Obama's day can and should come, but let's save him for 2016. Eight more years as a Senator, or Secretary of State would easily cement a shoo-in status for him, just as 8 years in the White House and 7 years and counting as a Senator has done for Hillary Clinton. Hillary's time has come, and I believe she will go down in history as one of the greatest Presidents and world leaders of all time.