Edward's NC quandry

NC Sen. John Edwards is perhaps the hungriest of the Dems positioning themselves for a 2004 presidential run. I don't mean he's a favorite, it's just really, really, really obvious he wants to be president.

Thus, it'll be really interesting to see how he handles the 2002 senate campaign in his state. He has been silent thus far. That is good politics. The NC primary campaign is still in full swing, and he doesn't want to alienate anyone by endorsing a candidate this early in the game (especially since one of the low-tier candidates is African-American, the other a woman).

However, it will be interesting to see what happens after the primaries. It would be in Edward's inmense interest to have a Democrat win the seat. For one, the press and pundits would shower Edwards with some of the credit for beating a powerful and popular Liddy Dole. Also, Edward wouldn't have to share the NC with a nationally recognized figure such as Dole. And finally, you can bet that if Dole wins the seat, the GOP will trot her out any time Republicans want to bash on Edwards.

Thus, it would make sense for Edwards to invest heavily in beating Dole. On the other hand, if Dole wins (as is generally accepted), Edwards will shoulder a great deal of the blame, wounding him in the eyes of donors and the press. As a result, he might consider sitting out the race and distancing himself from the result.

Posted June 11, 2002 10:08 AM | Comments (3)