Reply #9: People are blaming Edwards?? [View All]

[Fleshdancer]

I took a couple days off from DU to come back and read this...how silly! Hell, I thought the Edwards/Cheney debate really displayed the differences between the Democratic ticket and the current administration. Hope and intelligence vs greed and arrogance.

My hope for the 2008 candidate is that s/he isn't overly managed by advisers. Both Gore and Kerry were advised to death and it seems like Gore regrets that now. The Newsweek article said that Kerry wanted to go after the swift boat attack ads but was advised not to.

I'm just trying to figure out how these advisers manage to strip the confidence away from highly intelligent, highly successful politicians. Kerry trusted his instincts and survived a war. He trusted his conscience and confronted our government about that war. He managed to serve in American politics for 20 years. He converses with an honest, intellectual equal on a daily basis by choice because he married her. Why did he need to be advised in this way? I didn't support Kerry in the primary, but even I am able to see how strong of a candidate he was...had he trusted his gut more. Besides, if you can't win an election by being the kind of leader you naturally are, is it worth it in the end?

on edit: Regarding Obama, I love him. I listen to him and I always want to hear more. Politicians like him don't come around too often and he has the opportunity to do a lot for our party. Throwing him into the WH race in 2008 would, in my opinion, be a waste. I want to see him kick ass in the Senate for a while, speak on behalf of the party a lot, and become a real strong influence before campaigning for the big one...and when he does, I don't want him as VP. I want my bumper sticker to say "Obama/..."