Where does Edwards go after Super Tuesday?

[Leilani]

John Edwards has stayed in the race based on the fact that he would do well on Super Tuesday. Now he is saying he does not have to win
anywhere, & he will stay in until the following week.

I do not understand his strategy. Is he running for Veep? According to John Zogby on CNN today, Kerry does not like Edwards, & will not make him Veep.

Is John Edwards running for 2008?

[SangamonTaylor]

1. he's going to Texas, Louisianna, Mississippi, and Florida

[mitchtv]

4. yeehah !

.

[Padraig18]

2. He goes to the March 9th 'Southern Super Tuesday' states.

He's not running for VP, and he's not running for 2008--- he's running for our party's nomination for president.

[littlejoe]

27. Given what we know, it's a valid question.

[jenk]

3. he's come this far, down to the final 2

so why not go a little further? Makes no sense for him to drop out after super tuesday. he might as well play out the string. he has a pretty good chance in the march 9 states, might even sweep.

[mitchtv]

6. yeah maybe he can damage Kerry in the south

He ain't going anywhere in the north east or west

[mobuto]

12. Define "South"

There's an outside chance Edwards will win Maryland on Tuesday. I personally doubt he will, but polls indicate its possible.

[littlejoe]

26. Even that is highly doubtful.

[Streetdoc270]

5. No he's running for President......

He is also running for position within the party. If he can make a good showing then more doors will be opened for him. But we can't just end the primaries now there is still a long shot chance that Edwards can win the nomination, more people need to realize this and go vote for the canidate of YOUR choice, not who CNN is giving the most attention to.

[Leilani]

7. I still don't understand the point?

He is not winning.

He is not a statement candidate like Kucinich.

He knows he does not have a chance, or is he waiting for Kerry to self destruct?

[Mairead]

10. Correction-for-the-213th-time: Kucinich is in it to win, period.

And if enough other people decide to finally vote their hearts, he will.

[jsw_81]

25. Kucinich is in it to win?

That's hilarious. The man has six delegates and a campaign budget of $9 and you think he's going to win?

[jfxgillis]

8. Home. n/t

[mohc]

9. Expectations game

The most important result next Tuesday will be how things are perceived, not the raw numbers. Looking at recent polling, Edwards has a decent chance to pull off 2-4 states if he continues to surge the way he has. If he was out saying that he expects to win 4 states, and thats all he does, then he has not beaten expectations. Even with the southern states the next week, it would be a difficult for Edwards to grab enough momentum to beat Kerry. And even worse, were he outwardly saying he expects to win states which he ends up losing, it pretty much means the end of his campaign. If on the other hand he manages to lower expectations, then winning several states puts him in a very good position. The story would be how he surged ahead again like he did in WI, and would probably be favored in all of the states the following week. Then IL becomes the state that could very well decide the nomination the week after that. And in the event he does not do as well as he truly hopes, he has enough cover to continue on another week and hope something happens that turns everything around. In the event that Edwards does not win a single state, I fully expect him to drop out. If he only wins GA, and especially if its by a small margin, its going to be a tough decision. Two or more states and I think he stays in. On the flip side, if he were to pull off an upset in either CA or NY, I think it pretty much ends Kerry's campaign. He of course would not drop out, but I simply coult not see Kerry winning another state after Super Tuesday if Edwards can win either of those states, espcially with all the New England states finishing up this week.

[jfxgillis]

14. It's getting a little late for this "expectations" crap

At some point, you gotta WIN more than you LOSE.

Under your best case for Edwards, the 1,100 delegates at stake will split about 700-400 for Kerry, leaving Kerry with aprox. 1,300 total to Edwards's 600 total. That's your BEST case. And Edwards would have to win the remaining delegates at an 80/20 clip to even just block a first ballot win for Kerry.

In your borderline case, Edwards gets CRUSHED but not absolutely humiliated.

Basically, you're arguing only if Edwards gets absolutely humiliated should he drop out. Well, okay, maybe that'll happen but I doubt it.

[disenfranchised]

11. What do you expect Edwards to say?

If he says that he is thinking of dropping out, why will people vote for him? Every candidate who dropped out did so after claiming they were going to continue their campaign no matter what happened in the upcoming state.

Why can't people wait to see the results Tuesday before they write his obituary?

[citizen snips]

13. Who knows what is going to happen.

I don't know if Kerry will choose Edwards a VP. I will support Edwards no matter what his decision is.
I also think Edwards will run in 2008.

[tishaLA]

15. I hope he stays in

I'm tired of seeing our candidates drop out. I like the exchange of ideas and, frankly, the theater of politics. No need to hurry him out the door like some did with Dean and Clark.

[jfxgillis]

18. Now THAT is an excellent point, and moreover ...

... it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Kerry's people (not Terry Mac and the DNC, but KERRY'S campaign people) don't agree with you.

Looking at the last debate, it could be that Kerry and Edwards have a side arrangement right along the lines you suggest.

[blm]

16. I don't trust Zogby's word. Kerry and Edwards have been friendly for years

and Teresa and Chris are also friends with him and his family.

Zogby is just fomenting controversy where there is none.

[Padraig18]

17. You're right.

They're both friends in real life.

[Asteroid]

19. They seemed friendly last night

in the California debates. I would not mind seeing a Kerry/Edwards run for the white house, though I know that many Edwards supporters feel that Edwards is the better choice for president.

[citizen snips]

21. I agree.

I think Edwards is the better choice but I will support him with any decision he makes.

[flpoljunkie]

20. Photo taken after the debate. John Kerry hugging Elizabeth Edwards.

Reuters/Rick Wilking

[revcarol]

22. The only way they could have been more cosy in the last debate

was to seat one on the other's lap...They played "this is an exclusive club" to the other candidates. Their agreement is already made.

[David Dunham]

28. VP

[union_maid]

23. No benefit to the Dems if Edwards drops soon

Of course, Edwards has to concern himself with what he can afford to do, but the Dems benefit. Who's Kerry going to debate with? Just Kucinich and Sharpton? While that might be very interesting to us..productive even, it's not the kind of drama that's going to keep them in the news. Even if Kerry is the mathmatical winner before the convention, they'd probably be dumb to tip their hand on the VP choice. We need some kind of reason for people to tune into it.

[jsw_81]

24. Back to Raleigh

[MoonRiver]

29. I'm not concerned about what he'll do. He's very rich and has many

connections. I'm sure he has a bright future, regardless of this election. I really hope what Zogby said is correct. John Edwards has got to be the most over-hyped, over-packaged losing Dem candidate ever. To me, he has zero appeal. I'm so sick of the "my father was a mill worker" speach I could puke.

[mountainvue]

30. I have to agree with you.

Seeing them sitting next to each other at the debate on Thursday, I couldn't help but think that they didn't like each other very much. I definitely don't think it's going to be a Kerry/Edwards ticket.