Edwards Says We Need to Restore Our Credibility

In years past, there was much that Ronald Reagan and the senior Bush did that I did not agree with, but both presidents had considerably more credibility than the current occupant of the White House. Around the world, our credibility, and therefore our ability to get things done, has been badly damaged by Bush and Cheney. John Edwards understands this and has talked about the issue several times now. Here's an AP story on a recent visit to San Antonio by Edwards:

Democrat John Edwards said Wednesday he's not worried about all the attention Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are getting more than a year and half out from the 2008 presidential elections.

In San Antonio for a private fundraiser, Edwards told reporters after a campaign rally that "I feel a long way from left out. I think it'll be clear that I'll get all the attention I need."

(snip)

The former senator also said America must regain its credibility and "deal with what is the bleeding sore of Iraq."

(snip)

Also Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, issued a letter endorsing Edwards for the Democratic nomination.

I'm convinced that the early poll numbers for the 2008 race don't mean much. Only a few months ago, McCain seeemed to be the clear front-runner among Republicans and now his numbers have fallen off. One of the clues that the race for 2008 is still in its early stages is that Rudy Giuliani is taken seriously as presidential material.

I'll write more about Giuliani later on but, getting back to Edwards, he's actually well-positioned to make his move when we start getting closer to the primaries and people start getting serious about where our country needs to go in the next few years. Obviously, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are fine candidates but I find it interesting that it's Edwards most Republican right wingers are attacking.

When I look for news stories for all the Democratic candidates, there's always nonsensical stories that pop up that have been written by Republicans trying hard to smear Democratic candidates in the early going. But the attacks on John Edwards, particularly the one recently by right wing hit artist Ann Coulter, are ridiculously over the top.

Rush Limbaugh has several hits on Edwards lately that suggest Limbaugh has some sort of fixation on Edwards. I'm amazed, at this late date, that Limbaugh still has any credibility given how wrong he has been on a number of issues in recent years, including his often blind support for Bush's judgment, but there he is when you try to find information on the Democrats.

Even if we take into consideration Limbaugh's poor judgment, what's consistent about right wingers is that the more they fear something, they more they attack. Limbaugh clearly fears John Edwards but I think it's more than that. If a Republican wins, Rush Limbaugh could still consider himself relevant though that's not quite as true as it was ten years ago when Limbaugh had a considerably bigger audience. If a Democrat wins, however, Limbaugh would lose his small stake in the Republican Party's right wing era of dominance. The radical revolution would be over for sure. Edwards may be the Democrat that Limbaugh feels could render him impotent and irrelevant.