John Edwards could have taken the Jim Webb route when NPR grilled him yesterday about his interest in reprising his role as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, but instead he said this: "I am prepared to seriously consider anything, anything he asks me to do for our country."

If Barack Obama were to choose Edwards, it would create an unusual situation in American politics. Very rarely does a losing vice presidential nominee land on someone else's ticket in a future election. Edwards would be the fourth person ever to do this, and the first since 1916.

The others:  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/john-edwards-and-rare-occasion-two-time-losing-running-mate#comments Politics Adlai Stevenson I Alton Parker Barack Obama Benjamin Harrison Charles Fairbanks Charles Pinckney Henry Davis James Blaine Jim Webb John Edwards John McCain Rufus King Samuel Tilden Theodore Roosevelt Thomas Hendricks William Howard Taft William Jennings Bryan William McKinley Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:52:14 -0400 Steve Kornacki 71631 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/edwards-goes-sure-thing

John Edwards’ endorsement of Barack Obama matters because the media is treating it like it does. Twenty-four hours after Hillary Clinton celebrated a 41-point landslide victory in West Virginia, the press now has fresh reason to speculate about a final death blow to her campaign, creating a narrative that could unleash the decisive superdelegate flood the Obama campaign has been waiting for.

But, really, is this huge—or even surprising—news? Obama was going to win the nomination with or without Edwards’ backing.  read more »

I asked Joe Trippi, a former senior adviser to John Edwards, why the North Carolina senator decided to endorse Barack Obama today.

He said he didn't know the motivations. He wanted to talk impact.

"I don't know why, I just know it's big," he said. "I don't know what other endorsement you'd really want right now. He is Mr. Blue Collar. His whole life has been fighting for blue-collar people."  read more »

The news of John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama was reported as Hillary Clinton addressed her top donors in her Washington, D.C., home today.

"It actually broke during the meeting, and I was passing my BlackBerry around when NBC confirmed it," said one donor in the room. The reaction of the fund-raisers in the room was mixed, according to the bundler. "Some people said, 'Shit, now we have to deal with this?' Other people said, and I agree with this, 'Who cares? Maybe if he did it two months ago. But now who cares?'"

Someone in the room sought to inform Clinton of the news by declaring out loud "Edwards has just endorsed Obama," according to the donor.  read more »

“I had concluded I could stay in the race, keep getting significant numbers of votes, keep accumulating delegates,” he said. “But the overwhelming likelihood was I would not be the nominee.”  read more »

Edwards spokesman Matthew Nelson just sent over this response to a question I asked about the assertion in today's Times story suggesting that Elizabeth Edwards was pressuring John Edwards to endorse Hillary Clinton:

"Unless you're hearing from John or Elizabeth themselves, and not unnamed sources, I wouldn't put much stock in it. Information is currency in politics, and there is a lot of fake currency floating around out there.  read more »

The Obama campaign just announced, conspicuously, “the endorsement of 49 prominent supporters of John Edwards—including Ed Turlington, Edwards' former National General Chairman.”

But not Edwards himself.

It seems fair to ask whether the Obama campaign could have assembled this coalition without Edwards' tacit approval or at least knowledge, particularly when they likely did so with the upcoming North Carolina primary in mind.

 As Ralph Nader becomes the Harold Stassen of the 21st century and a running joke to everyone except Al Gore, we sometimes forget that a generation ago (When Stassen was our perennial candidate for President), Nader was a founder of the consumer and environmental movement. How does someone evolve from one of the most credible policy advocates in the country, to a punch line on late night television?

When you buckle your seatbelts and when your air bag deploys—saving your life—you should thank Ralph Nader. The Clean Air Act, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act are at least partially due to Nader’s skill as an advocate in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

I mention the history because Nader did not build his reputation as a consumer and environmental advocate by pushing symbolism at the expense of results. He must know that his popularity is trending down.  read more »

As devastating as it was to her party, it was—in purely political terms—good news for Hillary Clinton when John Kerry finished inches short of George W. Bush in the 2004 election.

Ms. Clinton had opted to sit out the '04 race, a decision that placed the fate of whatever White House ambition she harbored in Mr. Kerry's hands. A Kerry victory in '04 would have taken the Democratic nomination out of play until 2012, by which time other Democrats—like Vice President John Edwards, for instance—would likely have emerged and eclipsed her.  read more »

Democrats

Barack Obama:

At a minimum, Obama needs to keep the overall delegate count relatively close, so that even if he falls behind Hillary, he won’t be in a position where he needs to sweep the rest of the primaries and caucuses to catch up. Even though delegates are given out proportionally at the district level, Obama also needs to win multiple states in different regions to make a statement about his national viability.  read more »