MSNBC’s Chuck Todd: Edwards Dropping Out
30 January 2008 6:03 am by Taylor Marsh
MSNBC’s Chuck Todd: Edwards Dropping Out updated
John Edwards will end his presidential campaign today, a source close to the Edwards campaign confirmed today.
The former senator is scheduled to speak in New Orleans this afternoon — an appearance billed as an ani-poverty speech that is now expected to serve as the platform for ending his White House bid. … ..
This story just broke on MSNBC.
No statement yet from the Edwards campaign.
CNN confirms, also adding he isn’t expect to endorse anyone at this time, but no one knows.
More when it comes out.
Now here’s my take on it. This isn’t a given that it benefits Obama. What Edwards talks about has been the core of Clinton’s support, the lunch bucket Democrats. If Edwards endorses, that could matter. But that said, there will be Edwards supporters who won’t be able to endorse Clinton. These voters, however, could also think that Obama is more talk than action. Clinton, for all the criticism, is a serious old school Democrat, with the values and beliefs to go with it. She is a partisan, though after standing her ground, she’s more than capable and willing to reach across to find common ground. With Obama, he sends signals that he’d reach out first in a let’s make a deal mode, almost selling out the Democratic ideals because he is not himself an ideologue. Edwards, for all his vast appeal, is more of an ideologue and so are his supporters. But then again, I cannot see people like David Sirota backing Clinton. All this boils down to a muddle with no clear conclusion to draw. Tomorrow at the debate there will be only two people on stage, Clinton and Obama. We’re getting down to it.
UPDATE III (12:34 pm eastern): Peter Daou, Clinton’s Internet director just posted on DailyKos regarding Edwards. Speaking of bloggers, I can’t say enough about Tracy Russo, who took care of the interaction with Edwards’ and bloggers. She is quite simply the best.
UPDATE II (12:00 pm eastern): Clinton’s homepage features a dedication to the Edwards: “We Salute John and Elizabeth Edwards.” Obama’s site, at this hour, features Ted Kennedy’s endorsement. Just sayin’. See MyDD
UPDATE: Obama’s statement on Edwards:
“John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn’t popular to do or covered in the news. At a time when our politics is too focused on who’s up and who’s down, he made a nation focus again on who matters – the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington. John and Elizabeth Edwards have always believed deeply that we can change this – that two Americans can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may end today, the cause of their lives endures for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America,” said Barack Obama.
