Trading Edwards for Obama in Iowa

[BeyondGeography]

==Ernie Schiller isn't afraid to make the ultimate comparison in the Democratic Party. Sen. Barack Obama, he said, reminds him of President John F. Kennedy. "I remember as a kid that John F. Kennedy was the first president who kind of brought people to their knees thinking about America," Schiller said last week. "I do believe Sen. Obama offers that hope."

Schiller is a Lee County supervisor and retired high school teacher. He's already signed on to serve as a precinct chair for Obama in the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucuses. The campaign keeps pushing him into the limelight, however, because of a past allegiance. It turns out that, until a few weeks ago, he was backing John Edwards.

Schiller broke with the former senator from North Carolina after watching Edwards' Iowa poll numbers take a hard downward turn. Now he feels it is important to let his neighbors know. "I had supported Sen. Edwards all along ...," he said, "but I'm looking for somebody who can take our nation to the next level without any cause for not getting elected, and I feel he's kind of flailing out there right now."

...Schiller can't quite believe his own prominence in this whole election process. Maybe it's because he's an elected official in a Democratic county. Or maybe it's his status as a former state teacher of the year. Whatever the reason, his endorsement was a prime target for the candidates.

...Forty-six years ago, he pointed out, Kennedy was the nation's first viable Catholic candidate. Today, it's Obama's political success as an African-American that's unprecedented. "There's an excitement that I see in his followers and among the leadership roles in his campaign committee," Schiller said. "Part of the news media get on him because, hey, he's the new guy. But it's OK to be the new guy...==

http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/obama_112207

[Debi]

1. So he dumped Edwards for Obama for no other reason than

Edwards' polls numbers dropped? There's loyalty for you. :eyes: I hope Obama doesn't have a bad debate performance or a public misstep, next thing you know Schiller will be with Clinton.

[Reno.Muse]

4. polls that are controlled by the media that is sucking at the Obama and Clinton trough

what a joke. He deserves the leader he gets.

[ClarkUSA]

12. But Edwards was leading in Iowa polls for most of the year.

Were the polls controlled by the media sucking at the Edwards trough then? :shrug:

Besides, Obama has been in second and third place until recently (excluding MOE).

[Jim Sagle]

2. Bad trade.

[Colobo]

7. No; it's an intelligent trade.

Gobama.

[Inspired]

3. I've never heard of the guy. n/t

[mnhtnbb]

5. Fair weather kind of guy, huh? There's still time for him to jump to Hillary.

[ClarkUSA]

14. No he knows the Clintons too well for that. lol

Read the article.

[frogcycle]

6. he's an idiot

jumping on a bandwagon

"kind of flailing?"

what the hell kind of assessment is that? based on poll numbers, no less. Edwards is generally consistent in his message, as is Obama. "Flailing" might apply to fred thompson. This guy is an idiot.

[neutron]

10. Consistent? Edwards?

The man who opposed personal attacks in politics, then cut loose on Clinton like an animal?
The man who is there only for the needs of the poor who voted YES on Bankruptcy reform?
Yeah, Edwards is just as solid as a mountain. A mountain of sawdust.

What is sad is how the liberal blogs have let the trolls penetrate and vilify a good strong candidate.
What went on when Bill ran is going on now with Hillary.

All the right wing has to do is put a few plants around, and let the liberals set off their own suicide bomb.

[ClarkUSA]

19. Coming from a supporter of "The Politics of Parsing" candidate, that's a hoot

And don't even get me started with your use of the word "plant" because we all know about Clinton's demonstrated affection for them.


:rofl:

[ClarkUSA]

8. More on why this guy switched (he knows the Clintons "well" by the way)...

'Picking a new candidate was like choosing between a Maserati and a Ferrari. Schiller knows Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York well,
having visited the White House three times when her husband was president. He also admires Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut for his
commitment to "big issues." And Bill Richardson earns high marks for pledging to end the No Child Left Behind program.

But Obama inspires him... Still, electability was one of the factors he considered in choosing Obama.

"Yes, he has huge goals," he continued, "but if the right Congress is in session, I believe he can accomplish them."'

[BeyondGeography]

13. He's no doubt thinking about stories like this when it comes to Edwards

It's the standard hit job, but such is life when you make yourself into an obvious target for ridicule:

Edwards a champion of the poor with $6 million house

By ROB CHRISTENSEN AND JONATHAN B. COX
McClatchy Newspapers

John Edwards was telling a corn-belt crowd that the government in Washington is rigged in favor of the powerful and against regular folks, people just like them.

"That is what we need to change," Edwards said to about 150 people in a small-town volunteer fire station. "Democracy is supposed to start here, not with people walking around in $2,000 suits inside the Beltway in Washington, D.C."

Edwards may not wear $2,000 suits, but he's taken plenty of heat this year for his $400 haircut, his $6 million spread outside Chapel Hill, N.C., and his financial ties to a Wall Street hedge fund.

Since his stint as the Democrats' vice presidential candidate in 2004, the tension between Edwards' private life and his politics has been growing. In recent years, Edwards, 54, has adopted a more populist tone at the same time he's taken on more of the accoutrements of wealth...

http://www.kansascity.com/445/story/372793.html

[ClarkUSA]

15. The fellow seems to be focusing on electability more than anything else.

And he's also inspired by Obama. Imagine that. :toast:

[BeyondGeography]

16. Inspired...and from the pre-Facebook era, too

Guess he didn't get the, "Obama favors generational warfare memo" widely circulated here.

:toast:

[ClarkUSA]

18. Yes, Obama's steady rise in Iowa is attributed to both seniors and women flowing his way.

Guess Iowans aren't paying much attention to Hillaryworld's spin machine, eh?

:toast:

[DrFunkenstein]

23. JFK's Crib Was Probably Not Too Bad

Honestly, I don't care IN THE LEAST about the personal lives of politicians. What matters to me is what effect their actions will have on everybody else. I should hope that it isn't only poor people that can help the impoverished. This is like saying straight politicians are hypocrites for supporting gay rights.

I admit that the hedge fund business is unfortunate, but the haircut and suits don't bother me in the least. I hope he spends his life helping regular folks against the people rigging the system. That would be awesome, as far as I'm concerned.

[BeyondGeography]

24. I agree...but the point isn't what we think

it's how the media and the opposition will make use of whatever material our candidate hands to them and what effect that will have in the general. Edwards actually polls well on electability right now, but I don't trust it. Once voters get a steady diet of the rich liberal stereotype, his history as a fairly moderate Senator (relative to the current incarnation) and his support for the Iraq war until 2005, it's reasonable to think he would be cannon fodder for the Right and the MSM.

Me, personally, I find Edwards to be on the superficial side intellectually, but I'm always impressed by his skill on the stump, his ability to think on his feet in the debates, and I do think he has gotten to a place personally in life where he has settled on who he is and what he wants to do. I doubt the average American will be so understanding.

[Bluebear]

9. The kind of voter I wish would just stay home. Basing his vote on poll numbers.

[Mythsaje]

11. There are certainly worse choices he could make.

I have very few issues with Obama.

I prefer Edwards, myself, but Obama is a decent second choice.

[illinoisprogressive]

17. what a wonderful article. thanks for posting- not to upset Edwards supporters. sorry.

[Inspired]

22. I'm not upset at all.

This happens all the time. I have a friend who just jumped from Hillary to Edwards. So what.

I've never heard of this guy and I've lived in Iowa for 40+ years. It isn't like Iowans are going to fall in line behind him.

I've said all along, if not Edwards, please let it be Obama.

[saracat]

25. Not upset.I like Obama.That being said, this is really old ,old news!

[K8-EEE]

20. Ridiculous "poll driven" logic

If Americans are really stupid enough to be manipulated that way I guess we deserve what we get.

[Adelante]

21. This happens

Several endorsers changed candidates in 2004, too. Nice for Obama, though.