Edwards In Secret Endorsement Talks With Obama And Clinton

Time Magazine:

Time Magazine's Mark Halperin is reporting on his blog The Page that:

JOHN EDWARDS IN PRE-ENDORSEMENT CONVERSATIONS WITH REMAINING DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES.

HELD SECRET MEETING WITH HILLARY CLINTON ON THURSDAY IN CHAPEL HILL.

SCHEDULED TO SIT DOWN THERE WITH BARACK OBAMA MONDAY.

Clinton snuck there from D.C. undetected by the media -- met at the Edwards house.

Click here to visit The Page at Time Magazine's Web site.

Read the whole story: Time Magazine

Comments

[Independent voter]

Edwards stood on the stage during a Dem debate and said quite clearly that he and Obama were the change agents - and this was after hillary stole his healthcare plan.

How can Edwards even consider endorsing hillary after that? What does hillary have that Edwards wants.

Sorry raving Edwards fans, but this guy is not VP class material.

[sjl106]

LOL they "said" they were the agents of change. Now that is comforting. Damn get your head out of the clouds.

[Bluesman48]

"If you want more of the same, vote for Hillary Clinton." John Edwards.
John, you could have helped prior to Super Tuesday, but you decided to stay mum. Thanks anyway, we'll take it from here. The fishing is good in the Carolinas, I hear.

[westseattle]

Oh, he won't endorse Hillary and isn't even considering it. He's trying to put pressure on Obama so he can walk away with a better deal. VP? I see him as either attorney general or secretary of labor instead.

[EvanTakeAll]

Thinking in-depth about the motivations behind an Edwards endorsement this week, I think there are two major ways to paint it:

A) Edwards, who (like all Democrats) fears a brokered convention, is going to tip the scale to Obama in hopes of creating a true winner in Obama.

*I don't know that Plan A will play out as planned... there might be movement but probably a backlash against 2-men-beat­-up-on-the­-woman narrative.

B) Edwards can play the role of saviour to the Clinton campaign by stopping Obama's inroads among unions and tipping the scale in her direction among southern white democrats and labor unions.

Edwards' endorsing Clinton would be a Big Story. I'm not sure an Obama endorsement would make a measurable impact.

And because Edwards is consummately a politician, I think he goes for the Big Story.

[greejambri]

After labeling Clinton as the status quo candidate during the campaign, if he endorses her now, it would be a complete sell-out of his supposed populist message. He needs to either endorse Obama or endorse no one, or his credibility will be seriously in question.

[jubo]

Where is Bill Bradley these days ?

[jsinclair]

Bill Bradley is supporting Obama. (I saw him discuss it on, of all things, "Martha Stewart").

[repearwo]

Psst, got another secret, the earth orbits the sun, now don't tell.

[jubo]

Eureka

[lexicoscott]

so funny how Edwards was so adored, and now that his endorsement looms, people are already turning...

hate hate hate, anger anger anger, "venom", "vile", "puke". Let's just hate him now incase his endorsement is not for your candidate.­. hate hate hate, anger anger... the new democratic mantra. Yippeeee..­.. watch as the politician and the prophet start slipping..­. Vote McCain, he's the hell you create!!! embrace it.

[soot]

Why the secrecy, John? Please just come out and say it, and stop giving us the impression that you're hedging your bets.

[ParacleteofKavorka]

Hillary's meeting is described as 'secret' (how do we know about then?) and Obama's isn't. If she had gone to Chapel Hill openly, she would have been criticized for it. Media bias.

[westseattle]

Don't be so bitter. There's always next time for Hillary!

[BrooklynLager]

The Clinton meeting was secret because people only found out about it after the fact.

The Obama meeting is NOT secret because it was announced beforehand.

*blink*

[Aristedes]

He'd be a fool to endorse OBlam after getting his platform ripped off.

[wmbear]

DOES EDWARDS REALLY WANT TO RUN FOR VEEP AGAIN?...

Who knows? Maybe he does. He's still fairly young. He could sit out the eight years and then be in the catbird seat in 2016....

[pkmaz]

If Edwards was sincere about not taking money for lobbyists and regretting his vote on the war in Iraq, how then can he even consider endorsing Clinton????

He may or may not endorse Obama - that is his choice, but to endorse Clinton is to tell all who listened to his message and believed him, that it was just so many words....

It sounds to me like he's hedging his bets between the 2 candidates ... not following his heart. Remember how he was always saying "this is personal with me." Well, apparently, not so personal that he can't spend time trying to negotiate the best deal.

[raptor]

For any of the last three to be on the same ticket is a sellout.

[Aristedes]

How do u mean sellout?

[RealistDem]

I totally agree if his message was to get the special interest out of washington and then supports Hillary, the one candidate in either party that has taken the most money from lobbyist, including defense contractors. Then what was his running all about. Obama doesnt take their money. He talked about the party having backbone in his exit speech. Time for some backbone now Senator Edwards and make an endorsement.

[moda31]

someone needs to tell them that it's no secret they've both been on his ass since he dropped out. i like john edwards but it's a little sad that he's selling his endorsement to the highest bidder, just hurry up and get it over with already.

[independentrepublicrat]

It is expected that he is show boating and a political opportunis­t...that is not new for Edwards.

[wmbear]

ACTUALLY, HE'S PROBABLY JUST TRYING...

To get second slot on the Democratic ticket. (Just guessing..­..)

[nellie]

It's hard to know what he's doing until he actually does something. Remember the time he talked to Hillary after one of the debates? HuffPo made a big thing of it. For nothing. I'm going to wait.

[julianna]

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in the Edwards campaign. I just don't get the reasoning behind them not staying in till Super Tuesday, then endorsing. Makes no sense he would invest a year of his and his families time and then not endorse when it could have made the most impact.

[jubo]

Indeed.

[nellie]

I thought he did the right thing by getting out the race before super Tuesday. So I'm going to wait to see what he does before I make a judgment.

[zendem1]

John came along as a wonderboy to the Senate. But Democratic party insiders soon found out that he was a lightweight. After running with Kerry and getting mixed up in that pile of crap, Edwards was pretty much done. Kerry was surrounded by syncophants and idiots, and he was no great shakes as a campaigner himself. Edwards should have stayed in the Senate and waited, but he bet on the wrong horse and went down in flames. Whatever. His latest presidential run was unfortunate in that he didn't have anybody worth a damn running his campaign, the press was about as much help as tits on a boar hog, and his speeches smoked for taste. He got caught in between the new rock star and the old dog, whose greatest asset is being married to the big dog. His endorsement, should somebody choose to accept it, won't be worth a pitcher of spit.

[ResistanceisFutile]

Fuck the voters!

I am sure the three of them and the super delegates will give us exactly what they please.

Democracy! What democracy?

[hank48188]

That is what I think about all the caucuses the DEMS have, what is DEMOCRATIC about not having a secret ballot and not having all day to have your voice heard. If you don't have 3 to 4 hours to be involved you get silenced, maybe they should change the name of their party to something more fitting...­.

[westseattle]

What is undemocratic is not being willing to take 3 or 4 hours every 4 years to participate in the selection of your president. If you're that lazy, you probably don't have much to add anyways.

[BrooklynLager]

Caucuses have been in the party rules for years. decades. generations.

Everyone saw them coming. Everyone has accepted them. No one has ever said they're illegitimate.

Now that people are making issues that it's easier for people to vote in a primary, I can see an argument for changing them, but in four years, not now.

[littlequeenie]

This really bothers me.

I voted for Kerry/Edwards in 2004 and liked Edwards.

This time around, I really liked most of his message - but I really felt embarrassed because so much of the time, I just wasn't sure I believed him, even though many intelligent people seemed to. Before Obama's rise, Edwards and his wife did quite a bit of badmouthing of Hillary, something else I found unsettling (this was before I had lost anything resembling respect for her).
There is no need for him to be secretly or not secretly meeting with either of them. Obama could use the endorsement - it would have been better before Super Tuesday but it could help in Ohio, especially if he campaigns for him out there. Just my opinion.
But this meeting with them bothers me. It definitely sounds as if he is campaigning to see what he can get out of the deal. So how authentic was his message?
If he endorses Clinton, then his message was definitely BS and I feel sorry for all those people who supported him.

[xargaw]

I couldn't agree more. Everything in his rhetoric is more aligned with Obama. If he comes out for Clinton, than everything he said was pure balony. A differnt kind of politics, nuetering lobbyist influence, organizing the grassroots. These were the issues that tied Edwards and Obama. Why does he think that most of his union support has gone to Obama. Clinton is DLC, big lobbyist money and the same old politics. How could he possibly endorse her and have any crdibility left whatsoever?

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

there are two BIG differences between Obama and Edwards where Edwards is more in line with Hillary.

1. Universal Healthcare. I was very disappointed that Edwards didn't come out and defend Hillary against the attacks that Obama has made against her healtcare plan. It is essentially the same as Hillary's.

2. Edwards doesn't agree with the Obama theory of making nice with the republicans to get something middle of the road done.

[sjl106]

LOL queenie obama has lobbyist running and funding his campaign, your absolutely oblivious to reality. Obama keeps the power of the insurance companies by not fighting for universal healthcare, even though he is now lying about his plan being universal. Obama is a fraud, Edwards positions are close to Hillary's. Hillary can produce the changes necessary, obama won't win.

[independentrepublicrat]

You are oblivious to truth. There is a pattern here: Clinton is plagarizing Obama daily in her stump speeches while her wayward supporters are projecting Clinton's vices and corruption onto Obama. Nice try but facts are real and only the uneducated masses will fall for your lies and bullsh1tery.

[MarkieBee]

Yeah, all those insurance companies donating $2,300 a piece. Sheesh, have you looked at the lobbyists tally for Clinton? Guess who's garnered the most $$$ from defense contractors? I'll give you a hint. The candidate's initials do not start with B and O and it's not a Republican. Also, it seems to me that insurance companies would love to see mandates. Having the government forcing people to buy my product would be sweet! Think about that for a moment would you. Besides, has Hillary told you yet what the penalty is for her mandate? Nope? Why not?

[wmbear]

EDWARDS COMES ACROSS AS SOMETHING OF A PHONY...

I think. He had a good message, but his personal style (yes, including the haircuts) was at odds with his message. If you want to come across as a populist, you have to look and act the part. Edwards, unfortunately, didn't seem able to do that....

[lexicoscott]

ah yes, he is not the celebrity candidate so screw him. If he can't show his hollywood while preaching his middle class america non-sense let's just throw him out with the rest of the trash.

more hate hate hate, anger anger. It's the new democratic mantra.. he's not endorsing my candidate so he's the enemy and a slime. Vote McCain, he's going to keep the hell we have grown accustomed to.. hate hate hate, anger anger anger.

[Aristedes]

Did Kerry endorse Edwards? Why not?

[sjl106]

kerry didn't endorse edwards to payback edwards.

[jubo]

Kerry enters a bar and orders a beer.

The bartender say - John, why the long face?

[Waldimore]

I can answer that. Because John Kerry is a pussy who was bitchslapped by Swiftboaters and his punkass didn't do a damn thing. He blames Bill & Hillary Clinton for his disgraceful loss even after Bill got out of his sick bed to appear in Phila. on a campaign stump. Kerry let lies derail his campaign. Then, in Ohio, 2004's Florida, he threw in the towel and didn't demand an accountability on voting irregularities. The result: 4 more years of Bush.
Isn't interesting how Obamaites turn everything around according to which way the political fortunes turn. California was an important state until Hillary won it, then it was meaningless. Someone on this Huffrag today was practically begging for Edwards to endorse Obama. Now that there is even the remotest possibility he could endorse Clinton, he's a fraud who's lobbying for a job. If that's the case why the fuck is Saint Obama even talking to him?
Obama is the fraud here. He's using the technique of neurolinguistic programming and hypnotizing his followers. 60 Minutes couldn't even do a whole piece about him because he says NOTHING!!!! All the talk about how dirty the Clintons are, well we're all still here, even after 8 years under Bush. With Obama at the switch, there's no telling. Be very afraid.

[LyricalLexicon]

For all those people out there bashing Edwards, what are you doing to address the issue of corporate control of our government? It's easy to sit back and criticize people from the anonymity of your keyboards. If any of you Edwards haters had to debate one on one with Edwards he would mop the floor with you. Instead of bitching about how phony a candidate is why don't you have the balls to put yourself out there in front of the cameras everyday and and run for city council, mayor, governor, etc. When your every move is criticized and dissected by the media lets see how long some of yall last.

[nellie]

All that negative energy as if people still feel threatened by Edwards! Kind of gives you a clue as to who's posting these messages. I knew HuffPo was trolled, but now I see it's more than geeks in the basement.

[independentrepublicrat]

I agree more than geeks because there are obviously some low IQ Edwards' sycophants present and I think they should continue to vote for him in every primary but get off the internet and do something to add reality to Edwards' suspect campaign rhetoric.

[Aristedes]

Geeks in the rafters! & Greeks.

[richard5]

What's going on in Maine today? Anyone has a link with any progress reports about the caucus?

[EyeWantOneNation]

I checked with cnn.com a few minutes ago...

Only 11 % reporting:
Obama 51 %
Clinton 48 %

[wmbear]

HEY, THAT'S A GOOD START!...

It won't go well with Dems if Obama wins most of the state primaries and doesn't get the nomination because the party regulars give it to Clinton...­.

[Dragon5616]

Obama 51% Clinton 48%

11% of vote reported. It's on CNN.

[Dragon5616]

New numbers:

Obama 57% Clinton 42%

44% reporting.

[MarkieBee]

43% in Obama +16 points at 3:02 p.m. PST. Go MAINE! Another HUGE turnout for a caucus. Anybody left questioning Obama's grassroots appeal?