by Mark Silva
John Edwards, fighting for the survival of his campaign for president in the Iowa caucus, suggests that the air of inevitability surrounding Sen. Hillary Clinton has a familiar feel to it.
"I lived through the inevitably of Howard Dean," said Edwards, campaigning in Iowa.
Dean, of course, the former governor of Vermont who lit up the Internet with his fundraising in 2003 and then burned out in the first presidential caucuses and primaries of 2004, is now chairman of the Democratic National Committee. And Edwards, who became the party's vice presidential nominee, has returned for another run at the presidential nomination.
Asked about the perception that Clinton's nomination is inevitable, Edwards said: "I know that what happens, from my experience in 2004, is people look much more intensely at you as a candidate the closer you get to the caucus. A lot of the celebrity fades away. So, I think as a practical matter, that bodes well."
Edwards, who ran as the unfailiningly nice candidate in 2004 with virtually no word of criticism for Kerry, has stepped up the intensity of his criticism of Clinton recently, and his wife was asked about that in an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered.
When Edwards was a boy, said Elizabeth Edwards, his father told him that if he was in a fight and had to hit back, "aim for the nose; you sort of get more bang for your buck there."
"So you have to aim for their vulnerability and make them understand that there is a cost associated with attacking you," she said. "You're not going to lay down. You're strong enough not only to take it but to hit back. It gives you an opportunity, I think, when you're fighting on even ground to redirect the conversation to something more productive for voters."
The candidate, addressing reporters after an event in southeastern Iowa, said he thinks about half of Iowans are still undecided.
(The latest Iowa Poll commissioned by the Des Moines Register, while showing Clinton in the lead among likely Democratic caucus-goers, also showed that more than half of the party's activists said they could be considered to support another candidate.)
The Associated Press reported from Iowa.
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Comments
Dean was the former "Government of Vermont", Mr Silva? Is that like the French King Louis XIV saying "I am the state"?
Sorry to rain on your parade, but Clinton is not Dean. He was an anomaly, somebody who came out of nowhere and was destined to disappear quickly; the Andy Warhol prescription for Pop fame.
HC is an established political figure. people have known her for years and have formed their opinions long ago. You may rant against inevitability all you want, but it stubbornly remains inevitable.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 9, 2007 7:19 AM
Edwards can still take it.
Never underestimate the power of prejudice against women and blacks, regardless of what people admit to publicly.
Edwards is s natural campaigner, and determined in an environment that favors his personal approach.
Look for Edwards to close.
Posted by: Oscar | October 9, 2007 9:10 AM
Governor, yes. Thanks.
Posted by: Mark Silva | October 9, 2007 10:05 AM
In fact, at this point in 2003, Howard Dean was running THIRD among Iowa Democrats. He wasn't leading. Which is about where John Edwards stands today in Iowa.
Take a look at the Chicago Tribune's poll, published Oct. 27, 2003, for the figures.
And is Edwards "unfailiningly" nice? Is that a new word, Mark?
Posted by: Bruce | October 9, 2007 10:13 AM
no one expected Jimmy Carter to get the nomination so Edwards might have a chance if the country would overlook Edwards lavish lifestyle (i.e. expensive haircuts, etc)
Posted by: Leroy | October 10, 2007 1:17 PM