Edwards, Guiliani Drop Out
January 30, 2008
Last week I predicted that Edwards would drop out shortly after taking a distance third in South Carolina. Likewise for Guiliani with Florida.
Yesterday Rudy Guiliani’s campaign leaked that he will be dropping out and endorsing John McCain. Today John Edwards officially dropped out.
So now we are down to two in each party. My apologies to Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul, but at this point, after poor showings in Florida and a lack of resources or endorsements, it seems that it will take a miracle for them to take even a single state next Tuesday. As Edwards saw, once two strong candidates emerge, nobody pays much attention to number three. There is, after all, a reason why a two-party system has evolved in this country.
Going back to Edwards, I truly respect what he tried to accomplish as a candidate. I give him the benefit of the doubt that he “ran for the little people” and to “change Washington”, rather than for personal glory and grandeur (see Hillary Clinton.) I expect he will make an excellent Vice President or Attorney General.
I also expect Edwards to back Obama shortly after Super Tuesday. I think he will hold off before then, because if Hillary blows out Obama, Edwards is going to be looking for a position in Clinton’s cabinet. However, after watching him in the debates, it is pretty clear which candidate he would prefer, and if Obama is still just as viable as Hillary on February 6th, you can expect Edward’s endorsement, along with his 26 delegates, on February 7th.
Good prediction there, Andy. I just wish that he enough courage of his convictions to do that before Super Tuesday. After all, he has the power to throw even more momentum behind Obama and political expediency be damned!
Of course, to expect altruism like that from a politician would be a bit idealistic…
I think John Edwards is pretty alutristic for a politician. Politicians tend to have big egos, and he probably figures he can do a lot of good for this country by spending 8 years as VP, and then another 8 years as President. He is after all, 18 years younger than John McCain. He has plenty of time to wait to be President.