“Bad Boy Biden” Got 638 Votes in New Hampshire Primary.

With his inside-the-Beltway media friends singing his praises as a “heavyweight” pick for VP, you might guess that Joe Biden has a fantastic track-record as a vote-getting machine.

Once the fairy dust settles, it will become clear to Democrats that Obama could not have made a worse choice.

Let’s start with the plagiarism problem. It won’t go away no matter how hard Howard Fineman and other liberal reporters try to minimize it. Cheating says something about a candidate’s character — and Biden has a long, nefarious track record as someone who is willing to steal ideas and words, to exaggerate and lie about his background to get ahead. Expect the McCain team to hit hard on this one. People don’t like cheaters.

Second problem: Biden is on record as saying that Obama is not ready to be president! He didn’t suggest this, he came flat out and said it. “Obama is not qualified to be president.” So Obama picked him because. . . . More poor judgment from BO.

Third problem: Biden is Kerry lite. Biden has spent decades in the Senate and has accomplished nothing except to get old and become a senior ”force” within the senate itself. Like John Kerry, over the years he has developed a senator’s sense of entitlement. He is lazy and self-indulgent. The reason he is so outspoken is that he feels invulnerable. It’s an affliction suffered by many long-serving senators. Assuming they have a lifetime appointment, they feel they can say whatever is on their little minds without consequence. And they do — sometimes with fatal consequences.

Fourth problem: Biden is a strategic nightmare for Obama. The “president of change” has selected the ultimate insider as his VP? Leading up to this announcement it was become clear even to the most dedicated Obama supporter than their man was drifting away from his core values (as nebulous as they were). Now he picks someone who says the Great One is not ready for the White House, someone who is more about the “politics of the past” than Obama’s favorite ex-foe, Hillary Clinton. What is Obama thinking? This is now a great opportunity for McCain to show voters who is the real president of change. And he can thank Obama for giving him this opening. . . .

Fifth problem: Biden is an uninspiring, uninspired candidate. In the New Hampshire primary, he got a pathetic 638 votes. Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, even Dennis the Menace did better than Biden. No one want to see this guy, listen to him, vote for him.

Biden is day-old newspaper delivered late, day after day after day. Put it in the cat box. Wrap your fish with it. But no way are you going to read it or vote for it! I promise that after three weeks on the campaign trail, Americans will be zapping Biden whenever he appears on their TV screens. . .and that means fewer adoring eyes for Obama.

Nice work, Barack.

Barack Obama and John Edwards: One Elitist Joins Another.

Nineteen delegates? That’s all?

Before people get too worked up over John Edwards’ endorsement yesterday of Barack Obama, let’s remember that this “working class hero”  — i.e. Edwards — was run out of the Democratic campaign as a miserable failure and phony.

He managed just 19 delegates before he dropped out. The reason?

The man with the $400 haircuts had no credibility with working class Americans back then, and he doesn’t now. In fact, he joins another candidate, Barack Obama, whose main appeal is with wealthy Americans. The notion that his endorsement of Obama helps the Illinois Senator to connect with people who actually work for a living is outrageous.

Let’s remember a few things about Edwards:

As reported in an article called Estate of Denial, the New York Post had this to say about Edwards’ humble background –

The megarich Edwards, worth upwards of $30 million, is slated to use the very symbol of American blight as a political prop to announce his candidacy tomorrow: the Lower Ninth Ward of Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.

It’s a far cry from his new Shangri-La nestled amid soaring Carolina pines on a 100-acre estate outside of Chapel Hill.

“It’s one thing to be a millionaire, but it’s totally tone-deaf to be using Katrina victims while you’re putting the finishing touches on your multimillion-dollar mansion,” said one Democratic operative.

Edwards’ posh estate is a work in progress, with a recently completed 10,700-square-foot main mansion as its centerpiece.

The $3.1 million ritzy pad sports 10 rooms, 61/2 baths, two garages, a huge country kitchen with hardwood floors, and sweeping verandas to soak in the view of the verdant pasture.

Two other residences – one for 22-year-old daughter Cate and one for visiting friends and family – are already under way, according to Orange County, N.C., property records. A two-story, 6,366-square-foot mini-mansion is about 70 percent complete.

On the day that he dropped out of the race, the LA Times  pulled data from exit polls showing that Edwards, like Obama, did best among the wealthiest voters:

In New Hampshire, he finished third among lower-income voters, taking 16% of those earning less than $50,000 a year, according to media exit polls. He won 17% of those voters making more than $50,000. He won 11% of voters without high school diplomas and 18% of college graduates.

In the Iowa caucuses, he lost handily to both Obama and Clinton among voters with annual household incomes of less than $50,000 but took a quarter of those in households earning more than $50,000, beating Clinton in that category (and placing second in the state overall, his best showing in the campaign).

And a new Los Angeles Times/CNN survey of California Democrats, taken before Edwards dropped out, showed him performing far better among upper-income voters than lower-income voters.

Let’s also remember that this “man of the people” was one of the few who did not protest when ABC News and WMUR-TV decided to toss the “second tier” candidates out of the debate. Edwards generously told the Union Leader: “I’m staying out of that. I don’t get to set the rules for the debates. I’ll let the people who are in charge of the debates set the rules. And I’ll be there.” I bet the Biden, Dodd, and Kucinich supporters out there remember Edwards’ solidarity with “the people.”

On the campaign trail, Edwards’ campaign themes went nowhere with most Democratic voters. In calling for Edwards to quit the campaign, my local newspaper, the Citizen, had this to say:

Edwards was humiliated in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, attracting only 4 percent of the vote.

Edwards was jubilant when he finished second in the first test of the candidates in Iowa, but it was euphoria soon lost. He ended far behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in New Hampshire, sliding to attract only 17 percent of the Democrats and the unenrolled in the record turnout of Granite State voters.

Edwards tilts so far to the left it’s a wonder he doesn’t tip over. It’s been more evident in this campaign than previous ones. His has been liberal rhetoric like that right out of the early 1920s.

As Hillary Clinton demonstrated in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, that far left rhetoric of Edwards and Obama is not cutting it with middle class America. So, if Barack and his supporters want to believe that Edwards is an asset that will throw up a smoke screen to hide their elitist attitudes and policies, they are deluding themselves.

Edwards himself had this to say to NPR on May 9th about the value of his endorsement:

“I would not inflate the value of my supporting or endorsing any candidate. That’s blown way, way out of proportion.” He contends endorsements carry more weight with the media than with voters: “I don’t think they make a huge difference.”

And there’s no guarantee those 19 delegates Edwards won will switch to Obama. In the final analysis, Edwards reached out to Obama with an empty hand. No doubt he is hoping Obama will help fill it with a cabinet or VP offer.

Will John Edwards do the right thing?

For weeks I have been wondering if John Edwards will do the right thing and endorse Hillary Clinton.

For much of his campaign, Edwards was dogged by questions concerning his sincerity. Could a man who was so wealthy — and conspicuously so — really be the champion of the “other America?” To his critics, that positioning looked too strategically staged and insincere. 

Edwards can put that opportunistic label to rest once and for all. The conventional wisdom is that Edwards is holding onto his endorsement, making sure he supports the clear winner. That, of course, is the wrong thing to do! The right thing is to come out and endorse Hillary NOW, before the Texas and Ohio primaries.

For one thing, with so many political lemmings jumping aboard the Good Ship Obama, it will make it clear that Edwards is a man of principle, not politics. More importantly, given his past positions, Hillary is his natural ally.

Looking at his choices — silence, Obama, or Hillary — choosing Hillary makes the most sense for Edwards, for Hillary, and our country –

– They both are committed to solutions, not just rhetoric and fancy speeches about change.

– They both are committed to real universal health care.

– They both are committed to helping America’s working poor.

– They both have expressed their commitment to rebuilding America’s middle class.

– They both have similar positions — and histories — concerning Iraq.

– They both have expressed unambiguous support for the rights of the LGBT community.

– They both have the experience, ideas, and realistic goals for helping our economy get back on track.

– They are both for ending abusive, predatory lending practices.

– They both want NAFTA renegotiated to better protect the interests’ of American workers, and to end tax incentives for corporations that move jobs overseas.

If you can reach John Edwards’ supporters with this message, please do so NOW.

Hillary, the Democratic party, and the country needs John Edwards to act today so that his choice can make a real difference on March 4th.

An Edwards supporter pleads the case for Hillary.

This came from a MySpace forum tonight in which a former Edwards supporter pleads that John Edwards throws his support towards Hillary. . . . 

I was a John Edwards supporter, in a major way. I just emailed him this:

As a John Edwards supporter, I know what kind of man he is and I will tell you he is honorable and decent. I wanted him to know something that happened to me today that I found very troubling. While I was emailing my Action post to different Hillary groups, I had to use the search on Facebook and MySpace, for groups.

When I search Hillary Clinton on Facebook, there are a few entries in the beginning that are for real. The rest start out being just a negative, don’t vote for her group, and go all the way up to pure filth and venom, for pages and pages.

When I do that same search for Barack Obama, I don’t see groups of hatred, slander, and filth against him. For pages, there are just groups for him.

Is that because he is so well loved, or because his following is at best, disgustingly filthy in their language; at worst, intimidating, bullying, threatening, …….. This is the caliber of people that Barack Obama is attracting. And, no one in his campaign is stepping up to the plate to say “Hey guys, I appreciate your support, but clean it up please.” To me, that tells me that they approve of this behavior.

I don’t want a guy who condones this. I want someone like John Edwards – decent and honorable. I say, No Thank You to Barack Obama. He would not be good for this country, not now, not ever.

It’s time for Edwards to withdraw.

 

Here’s the text of an editorial that appeared yesterday in the Laconia (NH) Citizen suggesting that John Edwards should leave the campaign now. Just what I was thinking!

The big question is: who would Edwards’ supporters embrace as their new candidate? All signs point to Obama, especially given Edwards’ far left — if not insincere — rhetoric.

Logic suggests it’s time for John Edwards to set aside his aspirations to become president and seek a job for which he is better qualified.

Edwards was humiliated in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, attracting only 4 percent of the vote.

Edwards was jubilant when he finished second in the first test of the candidates in Iowa, but it was euphoria soon lost. He ended far behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in New Hampshire, sliding to attract only 17 percent of the Democrats and the unenrolled in the record turnout of Granite State voters.

It’s time for Edwards to get out, just as U.S. Rep. Douglas Hunter did Saturday following a 2 percent share of the vote in Nevada’s Republican caucuses. He received only 1 percent of the vote in South Carolina on Saturday (Democrats in South Carolina vote next Saturday).

After his battering at the polls Saturday, Edwards exhibited a touch of reality, saying, “I got my butt kicked,” adding “I hope what happens in (Las) Vegas stays in Vegas.” It won’t. Polls show him running third — behind Clinton and Obama in his birth state.

But Edwards remains committed.

A former U.S. senator from North Carolina, a candidate for the Democratic nomination and John Kerry’s running mate four years ago, Edwards knows 2008 is his last reach for America’s most coveted political prize. He also knows in himself, he has come up short — way short.

Edwards tilts so far to the left it’s a wonder he doesn’t tip over. It’s been more evident in this campaign than previous ones. His has been liberal rhetoric like that right out of the early 1920s.

John Edwards’ seeming or pretended escape from reality notwithstanding, the contest for the Democratic nomination for president has come down to one between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Now, it’s what remains of the early primaries and caucuses and then on to Feb. 5 and Super-Duper Tuesday.