Why yesterday was VERY good for the Dem Party

[ShaneGR]

A lot of people, including a few seasoned political operatives who shall remaim unnamed, began twisting and turning in the wind like broken piniatas when the results showed Edwards within striking distance of Kerry. Bad for party they screamed! Unite now or die!

A couple things:
#1- We needed at least the appearance of a contest going into March 2nd. It helps organization in the remaining states, where in states like Ohio people were really pissed that their vote was looking to be worth nothing.

#2- By keeping the race going a few more weeks we earn a ton of FREE earned media out of the press we do the party a favor. The Edwards-Kerry showdown keeps our party in the news and President Bush in no mans land. That debate on Feb 26th will be HEAVILLY watched.

[pmbryant]

1. Exactly and exactly!

Californians actually get a meaningful primary vote for once. Same for New York. Same for Ohio. Throw in Georgia, Connecticut, Maryland, and more.

2 weeks to build up to this climactic day. 2 more weeks of press coverage focused on Democrats and Democrats' messages.

Sounds good to me. The Dem candidates haven't been tearing each other apart yet, and they aren't going to start now, so this is going to be nothing but good for Dems overall.

:thumbsup:

--Peter

[Perky]

2. Yep!!!

Completely agree.

So long as the focuus is on Dubya and not on eachother we will be fine.

[Eurobabe]

3. all should stay until the end

just to ram it up Bu$h's piehole

[doc03]

4. Agree, I was afraid it would be all over before Ohio

Edwards may take Ohio, from what I understand he has a better position on NAFTA also I think Kerry is far too liberal for Ohio voters. Kerry's position on gun control won't help. Kerry and Kennedy
pictured together will turn people off for sure.

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Yes! Yes! and Yes!

It's not a money game at this point. The press will take care of the coverage (HOPEFULLY!!!). As soon as it gets down to one man, press coverage will simply be matter of fact ho-hum...so and so campaigned in anycity usa today. Once it's down to one man, they might as well save some money and cancel the rest of states' primaries. :(

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. Lemme get this straight...

Someone doesn't get slaughtered as expected and he's back in the race all of a sudden? Did I also mention that Wisconsin is one of those states where as many Repugs can vote for whomever they want in OUR primary (where some estimate 10% of Edwards' support came from)?

Let's not get carried away here. Edwards still lost by 6%. He still has only won one state in 18. Kerry has taken states in every single geographical region while the only state Edwards won was his neighboring state. Let's also not forget that Dean's unpledged delegates are going SOMEWHERE, and typically, they latch onto the front runner. Things might not look quite as bleak for Edwards as they did yesterday, but he's still going to have to pull some serious magic at this point in order to even get some traction.

Edit: typo

[The Political Eye]

7. Two is better than one!

I agree that having the contests stay alive with Kerry and Edwards facing off is a net plus to the Party.

I wanted to add that what seems very clear to me is that the media is upset that they did not get after Bush earlier, starting back in 2000 and then during this fake of an Administration and that they are now using the Democratic Primary as a platform to explore and document Bush's failings.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi The Political Eye!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[lancdem]

8. I agree

And Edwards' campaign is not based on attacking Kerry, so it's not like they're going to be ripping each other to shreds. Plus, Kerry is sharper when he's challenged.
I know some people here were worried Kerry will have to spend more money now to win the nomination, but since he's opted out of public financing, he can just keep raising money. I have no doubt he'll be able to raise healthy sums to stay competitive with Bush.

[bobthedrummer]

9. All candidates should participate in the Feb. 26th Debate

there were rumors of excluding Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich yesterday.

Some DUers were real happy about that too. Tough shit-if someone says they want my vote so that they can be POTUS I want to HEAR their ideas.

That's democracy in action IMO.

[jpgpenn]

10. "striking distance" because of the 10% repuke pump up vote!

nothing more!

[ShaneGR]

12. Kind of funny how you switched your tune.....

A couple weeks ago Clark was the candidate because he had broad cross-over appeal. Now it's bash bash bash.

Wee, ignore function!

[chyjo]

11. Well said

I am a Kerry supporter, but John Edwards is a great candidate as well.....perhaps better for this sound bite culture. I view a Kerry vs. Edwards race as a win/win proposition.

[ChiefJoseph]

13. The longer this race goes on, the better it is for us.

The attention generated from this rare is detracting attention from the press' relentless coverage of Bush.