Remember that white guy who wasn’t Obama or Hillary and was all like “Blah blah blah poverty”? We laughed and laughed, because poverty is for poor people who don’t love Jesus enough for him to reward them monetarily. He didn’t do so well at the polls and dropped out before Super Tuesday (the first one, not Super Tuesday XLII). But as 2008 began to not look so 2000gr8t and the scales were lifted from our eyes, we finally saw the “Two Americas” Mr. Haircut was always blathering on about. It turns out that rich people live differently than those impoverished Christ deniers.
Then again, Edwards is obscenely rich himself, which always struck some quarters as hypocritical, because only the disenfranchised who no one will listen to are allowed to tell the truth about the class system in America. That way, nothing ever changes, except the digs on Cribs get ever swankier. Others, like myself, were frustrated that he wouldn’t endorse, then hoped he wouldn’t endorse, then said if he endorsed now it wouldn’t mean much because he squandered his chance, and finally stopped caring. Which is exactly when John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama.
The endorsement was far from a sure thing. John and Elizabeth Edwards famously got in an argument with Obama over universal health care in a private meeting after he withdrew and reportedly thought Obama wasn’t forceful enough to overcome George Clinton. Edwards met privately with both candidates, and at one time was rumored to be endorsing Clinton. But now that the Democratic race is effectively over (to the point where even NARAL is casting their lot with O) and VP talk has begun, Edwards is utterly convinced… that he can use his kingmaker status to shut the door on Clinton and lay the groundwork that will allow him to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. He wants first dibs on Cheney’s man-sized safes.
