“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” (Luke 12:48, NRSV).
Former Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards, as a man, owes Americans nothing. He sought to serve us, devoting a tremendous amount of his and his wife Elizabeth’s time in the quest despite Elizabeth’s cancer diagnosis. For anyone to ask more sacrifice from John and Elizabeth (not to mention their kids) as individuals is well beyond the bounds of decency.
But former Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards, as a politician, still has something to prove in my book. As a politician, when Edwards had the power as a U.S. Senator, and later when he ran for president in 2004, Edwards fell short of his standards in this primary cycle. John’s past mattered. It undercut people’s belief in what John Edwards said, reinforcing the legitimate attack on his pre-campaign employment with a hedge fund manager as well as the more scurrilous attacks on his hair cuts and home. As progressive U.S. Senator Russ Feingold recently observed in rejecting John Edwards for president (before Edwards bowed out):
“‘I don’t understand how somebody could vote, five or six critical votes, one way in the Senate and then make your campaign the opposite positions,’ Feingold said, expanding on comments he made a week ago to the Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent. ‘That doesn’t give me confidence that if the person became president that they would continue the kind of policies that they are using in the Democratic primary. I’m more likely to believe what they did in the Senate.’”
The policies Feingold points to, in the Appleton Post-Crescent interview, are:
“(John) Edwards, …voted for the Patriot Act, campaigns against it. Voted for No Child Left Behind, campaigns against it. Voted for the China trade deal, campaigns against it. Voted for the Iraq war … He uses my voting record exactly as his platform, even though he had the opposite voting record.”
I believe people can change for the better - and you should give them a chance to prove it. Paul Krugman credits John Edwards with a major contribution to the Democratic primary race this year (as do I) - John moved candidates to progressive positions on the issues and deserves our thanks for it. But what Edwards does publicly now will tell us a lot about who he is politically. Will John Edwards still fight for the issues he championed in the 2008 primaries? As an individual Edwards doesn’t owe voters a thing. As a politician the answer to the question is about future credibility and politically viability. It’s hard to see Edwards running for president again - you only get so many chances. When it comes to being politically credible and viable you don’t have to be president (see Al Gore) - but there too, you only get so many chances to prove it. I wish John Edwards luck in the future. America could use more of his progressive vision today, tomorrow.
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