John Edwards Announces Presidential Run

As a result of a website snafu, John Edwards has begun his race to win the Presidency a day early.

Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards jumped into the presidential race Wednesday a day earlier than he’d planned, prodded by an Internet glitch to launch a candidacy focused on health care, poverty and other domestic issues.

The North Carolina Democrat’s campaign accidentally went live with his election Web site a day before an announcement Thursday that was scheduled to use Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as a backdrop.

The slip-up gave an unintended double-meaning to his campaign slogan on the John Edwards ’08 Web site: “Tomorrow begins today.”

While it’s certainly no surprise that Edwards is giving the Presidency another shot, the way things are stacking up now I’d be very surprised if he made it very far in the nominating process. He’s polling well now, but that’s more to do with name recognition than anything. Edwards’ best shot, in my opinion, would be if Obama decides not to. Barring somebody digging up a nasty skeleton in Obama’s past, I’m forced to agree with the conventional wisdom that it will come down to Obama and Clinton.

Now, if Obama doesn’t run, and Clinton does run, then Edwards may have a better shot, because he will likely serve as the rallying candidate for all of the anti-Hillary voters in the Democratic Party. And that’s assuming that no strong Democratic governors make a run at the White House. Even so, I think he has a tough job ahead of him, primarily because he hasn’t really done anything in the past two years. Edwards’ decision to give up his Senate seat probably assured him the VP nomination in 2004, but I think that it really hurts his chances in 2008.

FILED UNDER: 2008 Election, The Presidency, US Politics, , , , ,
Alex Knapp
About Alex Knapp
Alex Knapp is Associate Editor at Forbes for science and games. He was a longtime blogger elsewhere before joining the OTB team in June 2005 and contributed some 700 posts through January 2013. Follow him on Twitter @TheAlexKnapp.

Comments

  1. Ticketplease says:

    You’d figure a Democrat wouldn’t go to a places where so many Democrats screwd up. I mean “Cold Cash” Jefferson, “Cholate City” Nagin & “$1.00 Diner” Blanco???? Oh that’s right, IT”S ALL BUSH”S FAULT!!! Excuse me. Edwards won’t be president anyway but I’d like him better if he used that money to help people instead.

  2. lunacy says:

    Who’s John Edwards?

  3. McGehee says:

    Never mind his platform. How’s his hair?

  4. Pug says:

    I have to disagree about Edwards’ chances. I think he’ll be a strong candidate.

    Obama is the conventional wisdom in the same way Howard Dean was. Before the Iowa caucuses in 2004 every talking head in existence predicted a Dean victory. Now, Obama is all the rage.

    Democrats haven’t forgotten Edwards in two years. He’s well known, he can raise the money and he’ll be stronger than Clinton in the Southern primaries, which are important in the nominating process but pretty meaningless in the general election beause the Republicans will carry all or most of those states anyway.

  5. Pug says:

    Oh, and his hair is excellent. Much better than McCain’s.

  6. McGehee says:

    That’s because he spends so much time on it.

  7. Eneils Bailey says:

    I am so confused now. After Tom Vilsack threw his pickle into the ring, I was sure I would stay committed to him.

  8. Bithead says:

    I saw Edwards at Trader Vic’s…

    His hair was PERFECT….

  9. Ticketplease says:

    I saw Edwards at Trader Vic’s…

    His hair was PERFECT….

    ROTFLMAO!

  10. Bandit says:

    It’s hard to see the magical VW bus tour back to the ’60’s War on Poverty having that much appeal but on the other hand the competition seems beatable.

  11. Well his announcement was certainly well timed to get the maximum impact. Everybody has nothing better to do than follow the news.

  12. vnjagvet says:

    As a trial lawyer, I have a great deal of empathy with Edward’s early career choice.

    On the other hand, I have an equally great deal of trouble visualizing exactly what he thinks qualifies him to be the Chief Executive Officer of the United States, and the Commander In Chief of US Forces in time of war.

    Vilsack has at least run a state government, as has Romney. And Rudy has been “America’s Mayor”.

    Hillary, has been “co-president” and McCain has been a Senator with some seasoning.

    Edwards just seems a bit of a lightweight in this company.

    But Bithead has the Hair right.

  13. carpeicthus says:

    Commenting on a politician’s good hair is idiotic at best.

  14. Eneils Bailey says:

    When a politician’s hair is is the best thing in or on his head, it deserves comment.
    “Two America’s,” and his “fix” will have a populist appeal to a portion of the electorate.

  15. Adam Herman says:

    Edwards can win even if Obama is in the race. He’s the most electable candidate in the top tier and does the best against the top Republicans in trial heat polls.

  16. Steve Verdon says:

    Commenting on a politician’s good hair is idiotic at best.

    I can’t stand Edwards’ condescending huckster schtick. The fool doesn’t even realize that some of his comments that he thinks make him look like a person of the people make him look like an elitist snob who can’t stand the unwashed masses.

    Edwards, the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate in 2004, spoke Wednesday to supporters of union-backed WakeUpWalMart.com on a conference call launching the group’s holiday season campaign to pressure Wal-Mart for better labor standards.

    In the call, he repeated a story about his son Jack disapproving of a classmate buying sneakers at Wal-Mart. “If a 6-year-old can figure it out, America can definitely figure this out,” Edwards said.

    There, is that better carpeicthus? Maybe you would be happier with the hair comments.