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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:47 am Post subject: John Edwards to Quit Presidential Race |
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DENVER (AP) - Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters' sympathies but never diverted his campaign, The Associated Press has learned.
The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two of his advisers. The decision came after Edwards lost the four states to hold nominating contests so far to rivals who stole the spotlight from the beginning�Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
The former North Carolina senator will not immediately endorse either candidate in what is now a two-person race for the Democratic nomination, said one adviser, who spoke on a condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement.
Edwards waged a spirited top-tier campaign against the two better- funded rivals, even as he dealt with the stunning blow of his wife's recurring cancer diagnosis. In a dramatic news conference last March, the couple announced that the breast cancer that she thought she had beaten had returned, but they would continue the campaign.
Their decision sparked a debate about family duty and public service. But Elizabeth Edwards remained a forceful advocate for her husband, and she was often surrounded at campaign events by well-wishers and emotional survivors cheering her on.
Edwards planned to announce his campaign was ending with his wife and three children at his side. Then he planned to work with Habitat for Humanity at the volunteer-fueled rebuilding project Musicians' Village, the adviser said.
With that, Edwards' campaign will end the way it began 13 months ago�with the candidate pitching in to rebuild lives in a city still ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Edwards embraced New Orleans as a glaring symbol of what he described as a Washington that didn't hear the cries of the downtrodden.
Edwards burst out of the starting gate with a flurry of progressive policy ideas�he was the first to offer a plan for universal health care, the first to call on Congress to pull funding for the war, and he led the charge that lobbyists have too much power in Washington and need to be reigned in.
The ideas were all bold and new for Edwards personally as well, making him a different candidate than the moderate Southerner who ran in 2004 while still in his first Senate term. But the themes were eventually adopted by other Democratic presidential candidates�and even a Republican, Mitt Romney, echoed the call for an end to special interest politics in Washington. |
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UG8CQO0&show_article=1 |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:46 am Post subject: |
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Makes sense.
Four years ago, he had a better chance. But at that time vs Kerry, he was always written off as 'too young to be President'.
Weird how that issue never came up this time (and I don't think 4 years older would have made that much of a difference). |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:58 am Post subject: |
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| Oh, good. My greatest fear was that Edwards would get the nomination. My second greatest fear is that he would throw his votes all to one candidate in a brokered convention. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:53 am Post subject: |
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| It's better for the Democratic voters in general if he isn't there. It's clear it's either Obama or Clinton, and Dems will be able to clearly vote for one or the other from here on out. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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I think he made the right choice and he did it in a timely fashion. More credit to him. His presence has only been a distraction. It's been clear from the beginning of the month that the Party wants either Obama or Clinton.
Is Secretary of Labor in his future? |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
I think he made the right choice and he did it in a timely fashion. More credit to him. His presence has only been a distraction. It's been clear from the beginning of the month that the Party wants either Obama or Clinton.
Is Secretary of Labor in his future? |
The buzz I heard is Attorney General. Which would be a better fit and a higher profile position. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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I had mixed feelings about Edwards dropping out. He was clearly my second choice.
MoveOn did a survey of which candidate you would like to endorse. The second question is would you support the Democratic nominee regardless of who it is and I voted no. |
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