Getting a read on John Edwards’ willingness to join the Democratic ticket as Obama’s running mate has been a little tricky. In fact, I suspect Edwards has personally changed his mind on the subject, probably more than once.
In January, after ending his campaign, Edwards was asked he would accept a VP slot. He said, “No, absolutely not,” shaking his head emphatically. In mid May, the NYT reported that Edwards had privately told aides that he would consider the VP role, if it were offered.
Two weeks later, Edwards told two separate newspapers he’s not open to such an offer. “I already had the privilege of running for vice president in 2004, and I won’t do it again,” Edwards told El Mundo newspaper. But about two weeks after that, Edwards sounded a little more open to the idea, telling George Stephanopoulos, “Well, I’d take anything he asked me to think about seriously, but obviously this is something I’ve done and it’s not a job that I’m seeking.”
Yesterday, Edwards appeared to be completely open to the idea.
John Edwards said Tuesday that if he were asked to accept the vice presidential slot or a cabinet position in a potential Barack Obama administration, he would “seriously consider” whatever the Illinois senator asked him to do. […]
“To answer your question directly: I don’t expect to be asked, have no expectation about it at all, I will – anything that Senator Obama asks me to do, including this, including campaigning for him, I intend to do, because what I’m going to do, I intend to take seriously,” he added. “What I intend to do is everything in my power, use everything in my power to make sure that he’s the next president.”
Pressed on whether that meant he might join the ticket if asked, Edwards would not rule it out. “I am prepared to seriously consider anything, anything he asks me to do for our country,” he told NPR.
This comes just a couple of weeks after Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), who leads the Congressional Black Caucus, identified Edwards as being near the top of Obama’s short list for running mates.
So, would Edwards be a good choice? Maybe.
Let’s concede that there’s no perfect choice for Obama. There simply isn’t. No matter which name is floated, there’s going to be at least some flaw.
I noticed that Kevin asked recently, “[I]s there any plausible prospect for Barack Obama’s running mate who hasn’t been immediately and widely trashed throughout the liberal blogosphere? Nobody comes immediately to mind.” It’s not just the blogosphere; I can’t think of a VP prospect that wouldn’t disappoint some segment of the Democratic coalition.
But Edwards comes pretty close to making everyone happy. The old adage in this game is “Do no harm,” and Edwards would definitely do no harm to the Democratic ticket.
In many ways, I think Edwards would be a much better fit with Obama than he ever was with John Kerry. In fact, Edwards reinforces a lot of Obama’s selling points — he has experience without being a creature of DC; he’s young without appearing green; and his personal narrative (successful career after humble origins) is very much in line with Obama’s. In fact, Obama would probably put Edwards to much better use than the Kerry campaign did, putting him in states where he’d likely help make a difference.
Better yet, after two national campaigns, Edwards has been vetted pretty thoroughly, and appears to be a safe pick. He’s an eloquent, aggressive campaigner; Elizabeth Edwards is a tremendous progressive voice; and Edwards’ signature issues (poverty, for example) deserve a national platform.
Obama could do a lot worse.