OnePeople

Nunn: to please?

By now you may have heard the statement Sam Nunn gave today regarding yesterday’s post… wait… scratch that. Regarding the topic of yesterday’s post...

"I support Senator Kerry for President, but I do not intend to be extensively involved in any political campaign, and I have no intention of going back into government. I've had no conversation with Senator Kerry about any position in government."

Who is that jerk who wrote that post anyway? Today’s Note (http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote.html) further editorializes the Veepstakes:

“The Kerry campaign has used Edwards so effectively as a surrogate that they may have boxed themselves into the corner of having to explain to the Democratic world why they DIDN'T choose him after all… Even aides to several leading contenders admit that the Edwards boomlet is real. They believe that Senator Kerry has seen polls that show how Edwards helps him in states like Wisconsin and Florida. Those Democrats will [sic] close ties to the Senate and House races think an Edwards on the ticket could [also] enhance the prospects of an Erskine Bowles victory in North Carolina and help Inez Tennenbaum in South Carolina…”

It’s an important point: per yesterday’s post, if they choose Nunn, or for that matter Vilsack or (God forbid) Gephardt and the first response is, “Why didn’t you go with Edwards?” it would be trouble. The reason the CW on VP choices is “do no harm” is because the VP selection is traditionally the first opportunity to see a candidate’s judgment and temperament. It’s a tone-setter. You don’t want coverage to focus on who wasn’t chosen, and why, because it’s negative and reflects poorly on the candidate. So if it's not going to be Edwards, it needs to be a soft landing. I've liked the idea of naming a shadow cabinet--- it would also give Kerry a place to put some of the names who help him in specific regoins or among specifc demographics (note to Kerry people: Gephardt helps you no where and with no one. Just remember he came in 4th in midwestern, union saturated, blue collar share-a-border-with-MO- Iowa)

But there’s an important reason why Edwards should not be chosen. The VP will not be judged against Bush but against Cheney. And foreign policy is Edwards’ most glaring weakness. Cheney will make Edwards look like even more of a kid.