Obama Best Fighter, '04 Lack of Words Defines Edwards [View All]

[Khaotic]

I've been living in Davenport, Iowa, since February 2000, and while I wasn't born into the caucus experience, this Show-Me State Native realizes how important the process is, and I've decided Sen. Barack Obama is the best candidate for the Democratic nomination.

Picking a candidate is more than attempting to choose the guy who has the best stump speech, it's selecting the individual who will best represent the people, the one who will give us government for, of, and by the people.

While both Edwards and Obama are great candidates, I don't believe Edwards would survive to the general election.

Why?

When it comes down to it I can NOT get over the image of Edwards from election night 2004. My mind continues to roll over the image of Edwards as he resolutely walked out from behind a curtain to inform us that every vote would be counted in Ohio. We had been told that there were tribes of lawyers on the ground in Ohio ... it wasn't going to be like 2000; heads were going to roll!

The next morning Kerry gave up, Edwards faded away, and neither politician gave us a piece of their mind about the event.

I'm still waiting John Edwards.

You might wonder just what I'm waiting for. I'm waiting for his thoughts, his opinion, his rant ... whatever.

I'm sick of political correctness and a ringing of hands as to whether people will think he has sour grapes.

I don't know about stories of Edwards on the ground in Ohio bringing the election 'evildoers' to light who were responsible for scaling back the number of election machines. Those who were responsible for telling people to vote on the wrong day. Those who were behind locking doors and making ballot boxes dissapear.

On election night I thought Edwards was a fighter. It was about the people ... the thugs in the GOP had pulled the strings again and I thought Edwards was going to tell us that he didn't care if Kerry was going to disappear quietly into the night, he wasn't!

But he did.

I do NOT believe Barack Obama will quietly sit and let himself be destroyed and swiftboated. He will fight. He won't scream, he won't freak, but he won't back down and he will go infront of the media and tell his side because the truth needs to be told.

I believe he's on a mission, he cares about this country and it's not about him. It's not about his reputation, it's about getting to the starting line.

That's right, the starting line ... election day. I believe our beloved progressive minded Edwards will get steam rolled just as Kerry did and I don't believe he has the ability to fight back effectively enough to have the definite support to win the general election.

If the general election were held the day after winning the Democratic nomiation then Edwards would have a shot, but that's not reality.

In the end in '04, the GOP definately feared Dean because they knew he was a fighter. It was beyond having grassroots support, it's about being effective against your opponent in the fight.

Iowa was too wrapped up in having a candidate who would bring the base together, someone who was mainstream who had military experience, no mud slinging, be nice, etc., etc.

I was there, I caucused for Kerry for many of those reasons. Dean and Gephardt destoyed each other and Iowans wanted a united Democratic Party, not one at odds with itself. If you wanted to fight then you were to be sent to the corner. That is effectely what Iowans did to Dean and Gephardt in '04.

Today we MUST think not only about the general election, but the long hard slog through the certain muck that will be the trail to the general election.

The discussion shouldn't be about how deep the muck will be. How dark it will be, or what it will be made out of. It will be there regardless of who the nominee is.

The discussion should be about who can survive the muck. Who can effectively wade through it and get to the general election looking just as good as when they finished the acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Bill Clinton did it, Al Gore didn't, Kerry didn't, and I think a gut search will tell you who can (and can not) do it this time.

Out of every Democrat running for the nomination, Obama is the candidate who can do it.

I don't want to repeat 2004. I'm going to caucus for Barack Obama for President of the United States.

Davenport Iowan