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Assessing John Edwards' chances for the 2008 Democratic primaries

I am going to call this one quite differently from what I expect others to say about John Edwards' chance of winning the primary nomination. I am going to say that he has a chance of becoming the Democratic nominee. Here is why:

He has a strong message of being for the poor and working people in America. He actually has real ideas, not "pie in the sky" ideas. He has come close to winning before, and he doesn't bring the negatives to the battle that Obama or Clinton do. He is probably the Democrat's best chance of winning in the general elections.

Fifty percent of those polled report that they would not vote for Hillary. That's not to say they won't, but they won't like it. Fifty percent negative is difficult to overcome. There will always be the animosity toward Bill, even if he is now popular, and we aren't going to be real comfortable with him in the White House, bored, and looking for some fun.

Obama has a great message and a lot of charisma, and he has always been against this now unpopular war, but he is half-black, which like it or not, we still makes a lot of Americans uncomfortable. I admit, he is my candidate for now, until he is not the nominee, but he does have an Arabic name, and Muslim heritage; and roots in the Cheney family. ( I just put the Cheney reference in there to be funny, but it is true, according to the Second Lady)

Edwards' is white, Protestant, attractive, has a history of being honest, not taking lobbyist money or PAC money, cares about the future of America, and doesn't come to the table with any real disapproval numbers. So why is he running third in the polls? I honestly don't know the answer. I have written that he is too pretty, but is that accurate? I think it might be something else.

I hate to "voice" this, but I must. I think that his wife's struggle with cancer makes us uncomfortable, and we don't want to deal with his and her struggles for four or eight years as she goes through her personal battle, forever in the media's spotlight. Is that a horrible thing to say? Maybe, but I think that explains his poll numbers better than any other reason.

I think that he fails to "nail" an answer when given the chance. He doesn't evoke a lot of passion then he speaks, debates, or campaigns, as Hillary and Obama do. His is too factual and not enough preacher for us, maybe; translationboring.

He lets his wife do too much of his dirty work, and we don't like that. He has begun to change that, but it might be too late; time will tell.

I say he has a better chance of winning than any political pundits are saying or pools are showing. I also say he has the absolute best chance of winning the general election, which is part of the reason for the first prediction. Democrats may like the idea of electing the first woman, or the first black to the White House, but they want, above all else, to win the White House.

Learn more about this author, Will Kester.
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Assessing John Edwards' chances for the 2008 Democratic primaries

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