Excuse George while he inserts this shiv, Mr Edwards...
...he has been instructed to tell you that you have made certain people very, very *upset*.
By Moe Lane Posted in Democrats — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
George Stephanopoulos ate his wheaties this morning (H/T Glenn):
Former Clinton adviser and current “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos mercilessly grilled Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards Sunday on a number of issues, including his numerous flip-flops when he was a U.S. senator.
At first glance, one would think that Stephanopoulos must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, or, given that there was a Republican presidential debate Thursday, forgot that Edwards was actually a Democrat.
However, upon reflection, recognizing Stephanopoulos’ ties to the Clintons, maybe this was a calculated attack on a political rival.
The video's here, and if John Edwards knew that this was going to be a tough gig, he's either a rampaging idiot or a hopeless optimist. Stephanopoulos came armed for bear, complete with video, bullet points and a shot to the head about offshore tax shelters and whether or not Edwards's opinion on them changed once he ended up working for a company that used them*.
Read on.
Noel Sheppard apparently thinks that this is a straightforward Clintonista blindsiding. I can see why, but I'm open to the possibility that this one was called in by the general Democratic leadership. Failure is, after all, pretty much the only unforgivable sin of the Other Party; and John Edwards failed in 2004. The natural - let us not call it 'timidity'; let us, instead call it 'reluctance to take undue risk without first establishing the ultimate responsibility for failure' - of the Democrats will only get worse for 2008: they know that they have a real shot at the White House** this go round, and they're not about to give it up for somebody who couldn't even win his State***.
You see, there's a pre-determined narrative that has to play out, here. We already have the Front-Runner and Eventual Nominee (Hillary Clinton), and the Fresh-Faced Outsider Who Challenges The Old Ways And Enthuses People Who Wouldn't Normally Care About Politics (Barack Obama). They don't particularly need John Edwards for either role, and as Senator Obama will also make an acceptable Vice Presidential nominee, they don't even need to keep Edwards around for most of the primaries. It's not yet time for the culling of the Democratic herd, so Edwards will be allowed the luxury of being treated as a real, live candidate for a bit longer, but this interview was a signal to Establishment Democrats: Playstation Johnny's fair game.
It'll be interesting to see who plays along.
Moe
PS: If this piece annoyed you because you're a Edwards supporter: by all means, give him more money! Prove me wrong! Moo hoo bwah hah!
*Doofus.
**What, you thought that they had one in 2004? The year that the Democrats chose John Kerry for their candidate? Ah, how I love the charming naivete of the reality-based community.
***That was his test, you see. They weren't even looking for a win in NC; just making it close would have been enough. Alas for him, it wasn't.
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Excuse George while he inserts this shiv, Mr Edwards... 9 Comments (0 topical, 9 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
I'm sure that George Stephanopoulus has already begun selecting his new high back leather chair for his Chief of Staff position in the Hillary Clinton Administration.
Stephanopoulos is part of the Republican-controlled Neocon media that controls the world.
You've been off the koolaid too long.
(Not that you're any worse off for it)
--
Gone 2500 years, still not PC.
I would have really liked to have seen one of the Republican candidates make a statement at the beginning of their debate on MSNBC to the effect of "I think that all of us up here on this stage, except for Chris Matthews of course, can agree that MSNBC and NBC are a liberal network yet none of us chose to boycott this debate. That shows a difference between the character of those in the Democrat leadership and those in the Republican."
... but I just can't help think:
"it couldn't happen to a nicer guy."
{shhhhhhhhh}
Let 'em knife fight.
And how much credibility did George lose in blatantly coming out after a rival to his former boss? We here know he is a hack posing as a journalist. Now more people know it.
If Edwards is too much of a woosey to appear in front of Fox, when do you think he will show up next at ABC?
So let 'em go after each other, and hope both sides have sharp knives.
Might Obama now be smart enough not to walk into the same wood chipper know as the Clinton Political Machine?
Stay tuned...
...that Stephie is a Hillary fan. He knows Hillary too well to be a fan, and he doesn't depend on her, or Bill, for employment anymore. If you could read his mind, I bet he's an Obama fan.
There was alot of outrage from Edwards followers. "How dare one of our own take on Edwards!" Yep, no media bias here folks, move along ;)
Every candidate should be the subject of hard hitting questions from every journalist. ooops, slipped into utopia there for a second.
Obama got SS after he found his name on the "Friends of Bill" list. Obama has a food tester and will ask Hillary if they can fly together to events.
If you always find yourself arguing the exceptions rather than the rule you just might be rapidly sliding down your own slippery slope to irrelevance. -CommonCents
I know its awful to notice such things, but are the only three people in his add, 2 african-american men and a lesbian?