Why Edwards should not endorse... yet
I've seen lots of discussion about John Edwards' current silence, from people who argue that he needs to make an endorsement, immediately, of either Obama or Clinton. The claim is that giving his delegates and supporters to one or the other of the remaining candidates will bring an end to the long slow struggle now playing out from state to state.
I think Edwards' endorsement has a much more important role to play later on, and that he's smart not to make it now.
It's going to be crucial once a nominee is chosen, whether before or at the convention in August, for supporters of the defeated candidate to accept the winner. And that's when Edwards' endorsement could be the most powerful. A statement from John Edwards that the nominee had been duly chosen, that he would abide by that choice, and that his delegates and supporters should now go to ____, would be a strong reminder to those in the camp of the non-winning candidate. It would remind them that coming together around the eventual winner, by supporters of all candidates, was the next, vital, step in the process of electing a Democrat to the White House in November.
I think Edwards' endorsement has a much more important role to play later on, and that he's smart not to make it now.
It's going to be crucial once a nominee is chosen, whether before or at the convention in August, for supporters of the defeated candidate to accept the winner. And that's when Edwards' endorsement could be the most powerful. A statement from John Edwards that the nominee had been duly chosen, that he would abide by that choice, and that his delegates and supporters should now go to ____, would be a strong reminder to those in the camp of the non-winning candidate. It would remind them that coming together around the eventual winner, by supporters of all candidates, was the next, vital, step in the process of electing a Democrat to the White House in November.




