Edwards presses on nevertheless

By Lee Bandy
SouthCarolina Insider

(1/11/08) He came in second in Iowa and third in New Hampshire, diminishing his chance for the Democratic presidential nomination.

He was seriously wounded.

Today his prospects don’t seem much brighter in South Carolina.

Nevertheless, Seneca native John Edwards, the former U.S. senator from North Carolina, presses ahead, showing no sign of quitting.

It irritates some, especially those associated with Hillary Clinton. They say the longer Edwards stays in there the more problems his candidacy will cause the party down the road.

One senior advisor to the Clinton campaign said Edwards was “angry” because things weren’t turning out the way he had hoped.

And therefore he wanted to make life miserable for everyone else.

Some think Edwards is playing the role of a spoiler by prolonging the day of reckoning between Clinton and Obama.

Others fear that the longer that battle goes on the harder it will be to heal the inevitable wounds in the Democratic Party.

It’s time for Edwards to drop out of the race, they say.

Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon suggested the party might want to interfere before the controversy gets out of hand and causes lasting damage.

Edwards won the South Carolina Democratic primary in 2004 when he was the new guy on the block, a fresh face.

There was hope.

But polls today paint a different Edwards picture. It’s one of anger, frustration and disappointment.

And worse, Edwards trails badly in the polls, a weak third to rivals: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

He presses on nevertheless.

“I’m in this for the long haul,” he tells reporters. “I will be in it through the convention and to the White House…I intend to be the nominee.”

One could hear chuckles across the fruited plain.

Edwards and his brain trust worked feverishly to persuade people that the race for the Democratic presidential nomination is far from over and that he still has a shot.

South Carolina holds its Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Edwards is trailing badly in South Carolina, a weak third to Obama, the Illinois senator, and Clinton, the New York senator.

Why is he hanging on?

What does he hope to gain?

Edwards clearly doesn’t like Clinton. He brands her the candidate of the status qo. He sees himself and Obama as the true candidates of “change.”

Third-place finisher, John Edwards, apparently is hoping that one of the front-runners would stumble and leave the former North Carolina senator as the only challenger.

Should Edwards drop out or fizzle, it is not clear which of the chief rivals would benefit more. Clinton most likely would draw union members and lower income people who had been drawn to Edwards.

While the election turns to the next contest in South Carolina, the big test will come on Feb. 5, when more than 20 states, including New York, California and Illinois will be decided.

Edwards just completed a four-day road trip around his native state. The Democratic primary on Tuesday is a critical test of his strength in the South, given that he won here in 2004, Yet, polls have shown Clinton and Obama battling for the top spot.

Edwards relishes campaigning again in South Carolina, where he strives to push a populist message that focuses in large part on his family roots in the state’s flagging textile industry.

“What this race is about and what this election is about is standing up and fighting for the middle class,” he recently told a campaign audience.

“The question is, wll we have a president of the United States who first understands what’s happening in South Carolina and across the United States of America?”

Edwards still thinks he has a chance to win despite the attention being given his rivals.

His thinking is that with the Democratic senators splitting votes, it won’t be possible to secure the right number of delegates needed to win the nomination.

Even after Super Tuesday Feb.5, more than 40 percent of the delegates will not have been picked, the Edwards campaign pointed out.

Edwards goal has always been to narrow the race to two candidates.

While the election turns to South Carolina Tuesday, the big test will come on Feb. 5 when more than 20 states, including New York, California and Illinois ,will be held.

Unless Edwards can score a major upset like come in a strong second or possibly the top spot, party pressure will undoubtedly be put on him to pull out of the race.

It could get interesting.