Reply #42: Disagree...here are the reasons why he is special.. [View All]

[Darkamber]

It is true that Kerry has been in office for so long. And it might be true that he dislikes someone who jumped the line to move up to the top. Howard Fineman did an interesting story talking about the "outside" race for VP...Edwards and the "inside" race for VP Gephardt.

Inside means you are part of the system. You have been there for years and you have the experience and inside support. You are a personal friend to Kerry and have known him for years.

The Outside track was Edwards..your support comes from outside. You have not been in the system for years but you have big money, grassroots, State Democratic party leaders and House and Senate member plugging for you. You are not a close personal friend of Kerry.

The question becomes what voters are you trying to add to Kerry from the VP pick? If Kerry thinks that he can win this on his own then he can pick anyone. If he wants to try to go outside of his base then he might look to Edwards.

What does Edwards have that other Southern candidates don't have.

1. National name recognition
2. Moderate appeal
3. Known fundraising ability and big money that comes with him.
4. Appeal that goes beyond the South...the Midwest..IL, WISC, OH, the WEST - WA and even such GOP strongholds as ND. And Support in other key states like FL. Even adding Edwards to the ticket could turn NC and force Bush to spend a huge amount of money there and OH, where Edwards adds a boost to Kerry as well.
5. Independents and Swing Republicans. Do you really think this group of voters want another long time Democrat on the ticket as an option for them? Edwards is fresh and even seen as moderate/conservative. He can bring in voters that Kerry and another long time Democrat could not bring in.

I'm sure there are more points, but Edwards is not a weak pick, unless you believe that you must work your way up through the system before you ever dare to run for President or be considered for VP. If that is the qualification then maybe we should change the Constitution because that is not part of the requirements to run for President.