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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> that Edwards had privately told aides that he would consider the VP role, if it were offered.<\/p>\n Two weeks later, Edwards told two separate newspapers he’s not open<\/a> 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<\/a> 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.”<\/p>\n Yesterday, Edwards appeared to be completely open to the idea<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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. […]<\/p>\n “To answer your question directly: I don’t expect to be asked, have no expectation about it at all, I will \u2013 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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This comes just a couple of weeks after Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), who leads the Congressional Black Caucus, identified<\/a> Edwards as being near the top of Obama’s short list for running mates.<\/p>\n So, would Edwards be a good choice? Maybe.
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\nLet’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<\/i> flaw.<\/p>\n