Well Done John

by Steve Soto

AP photo

Multiple media sources are reporting this morning that John Edwards will drop out of the Democratic race at 10 AM Pacific time. According to CNN, thankfully he is not dropping out because of a downturn in Elizabeth's health.

I am saddened by this development, because:

1. Edwards gives millions of Democrats not enamored with either Hillary or Obama a progressive alternative;

2. If he had the money, he could have stayed around as the king maker at the convention; and

3. The media's obsession with the Hillary/Obama piefight allowed them to flat-out ignore the fact that Edwards ran well in national polls against all GOP candidates as late as mid-December.

With Rudy Giuliani's expected withdrawal from the race and endorsement of McOld today, both races are hardened down to only several choices even before Super Tuesday got here. And once again, it all came down to media and money. At least on the GOP side, Huckabee and Romney will still be there to pose some problems for McCain along the way. But my fear now is that with Hillary and Obama formally left alone in a two-person slugfest, issues and our future may be an afterthought at times.

As Edwards departs today in New Orleans, still talking about issues that the media and Beltway don't give a damn about, would it be too much to expect that both Hillary and Obama actually focus on people and issues, and not who can counterpunch the best or attract crossover votes? Now is the time for Hillary and Obama to each make a compelling yet common Democratic case for change against John McCain and the rest of the GOP in the coming weeks.

Past campaigns have shown us that the narrative for the fall campaign against the GOP needs to be set now, before the media lovefest for McCain whitewashes his actual position on the issues and pandering commitments to the GOP's wingnut base. The burden now on both Hillary and Obama is to step up and act like Democratic presidents in waiting, speaking for all of the party and independent voters, pointing out the real choice that voters will have this fall: between more of the same with McCain to appease the 20% who still think we are on the right path, or a Democratic change in course that benefits the rest of us.

The GOP, especially McCain, have nothing whatsoever to offer voters this fall on middle class worries, the economy, health care reform, energy independence, Iraq, or even an effective fight against Al Qaeda. If Hillary and Obama can take some time out from the pie fight to hammer that point home over the next 4 weeks instead of hammering each other, this country and the Democratic Party will be much better off.