Has John Edwards had a “Sister Souljah moment”?

In June 1992, Bill Clinton was in the midst of a tough primary for the Democratic nomination for president as he prepared to give an important speech to the NAACP. In the week leading up to the event, a rapper named Sister Souljah made national headlines for saying, “If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?”

At the event, Jesse Jackson praised Souljah just minutes before Clinton took the stage. The candidate wanted to shore up support among African American voters, but didn’t hesitate to tell the audience that he was disgusted by Souljah’s remark and risked angering the crowd by saying unequivocally that he believed she was wrong. The exchange became known as Clinton’s “Sister Souljah moment,” which political analysts now look for from all candidates as a sign of their independence and moderation. In 10 short years, Sister Souljah has become synonymous with a candidate having the courage to publicly criticize his party and/or political base.

In the 2000 race, Bush flirted with such a moment when he criticized the Republican House for a bill that would cut benefits for the poor, saying the GOP shouldn’t try to “balance the budget on the backs of the poor.” (Ironically, those cuts pale in comparison to the cuts Bush implemented for the same programs once he became president. But I digress…) Of course, the real “Sister Souljah moment” of the 2000 campaign was John McCain speaking in Virginia Beach, home of the Christian Coalition, in February 2000 when he compared TV preachers Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell to “union bosses who have subordinated the interests of working families to their own ambitions.” Clinton’s “Sister Souljah moment” helped him enormously; McCain’s destroyed his campaign.

Nevertheless, the media and the punditocracy have come to expect these moments from candidates. When candidates fail to deliver one — as Al Gore did — the media paints them as “panderers” who are beholden to the party’s interest groups.

It may be too soon to tell, but John Edwards may have had a “Sister Souljah moment” yesterday.

The California Democratic Party held its annual convention over the weekend, and most of the presidential candidates were on hand for appearances. Gov. Howard Dean rallied the party faithful — again — with a blistering attack on the Bush White House, the state of the economy, and plans for a war with Iraq.

While Dean had the activists on their feet, Sen. Edwards had them booing.

Things were going pretty well for Edwards, right up until Iraq came up. Keep in mind, Edwards, like John Kerry, voted for the Senate resolution authorizing Bush’s plans for an attack. But when Kerry spoke to the California Democratic Party on Friday, he kind of brushed over his support for the war, and even chided Bush’s failed diplomatic efforts on Iraq.

Edwards, however, told a crowd that overwhelmingly opposes the war that he respectfully disagrees, saying “I believe that Saddam Hussein is a serious threat and that he must be disarmed, including with military force if necessary.”

According to blogger Daily Kos, who was in the room covering the event for his site, the “entire convention hall resonated in boos, the crowd chanting ‘no war! No war!'”

Edwards isn’t stupid; he knew his position on this issue wouldn’t be popular, but he told them what he thought and didn’t hide from it. Though Dean criticized Edwards by name for “hedging” on the Iraq issue, just the opposite is true. Edwards gave the same speech in California that he gives in DC. Edwards believes Iraq should be disarmed and that military use may be necessary to achieve that goal.

I happen to disagree somewhat with Edwards on this issue, but I have to admit that I respect what he did at the California convention. I wouldn’t have necessarily blamed him for emphasizing points of agreement between him and the audience, while distancing himself from his position on Iraq. To his credit, Edwards said what he believed, and in the process, demonstrated some chutzpah.

Clinton’s “Sister Souljah moment” proved he wasn’t afraid to challenge his party’s orthodoxy. Edwards may have just done the same thing, but it remains to be seen if it has an affect closer to that of McCain’s.