Joe Trippi: I Should Have Told Edwards To Stay In Race

Joe Trippi writes about what he wishes he would have told John Edwards:

I didn't tell him what I should have told him: That I had this feeling that if he stayed in the race he would win 300 or so delegates by Super Tuesday and have maybe a one-in-five chance of forcing a brokered convention.That there was a path ahead that would be extremely painful, but could very well put him and his causes at the top of the Democratic agenda. And that in politics anything can happen-even the possibility that in an open convention with multiple ballots an embattled and exhausted party would turn to him as their nominee. I should have closed my eyes to the pain I saw around me on the campaign bus, including my own. I should have told him emphatically that he should stay in. My regret that I did not do so-that I let John Edwards down-grows with every day that the fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continues. ...

I thought we could make a big dent in Ohio by appealing to middle-class working people. The same in places like Kansas, Colorado and the Dakotas. It was possible to make those a dead-heat for all three candidates in terms of delegate wins. And today, as I write this, I realize we might have had as many as 500 delegates heading into Pennsylvania and North Carolina, two states that would probably be strong for Edwards.

That would mean Edwards, Obama and Clinton would go into the convention without any of them close to sealing the nomination. You would have had months of Obama and Clinton banging away at each other, with Edwards able to come across to weary Democrats as a welcome, fresh face.? You'd have the electability argument begin to play to Edwards' advantage, since he always did well against McCain in polling. These possibilities and more played through my mind.

Comments

[LiberTLover]

Please stop beating yourself up. If Edwards had stayed in the race Clinton would have been attacking him as viciously and sleazily as she is attacking Obama. She would have found a way to destroy and twist his reputation into something unrecognizable. If you thought he was hurting that early in the race, he would have been on medication and bed rest by now having suffered the wrath incurred by having the nerve to deny Clinton what she believes is owed to her and only her, and to hell with the Democratic party or anyone else who has a different opinion.

[tbone99]

I couldn't even read this post for days- the headline was too painful.

[sparkandy]

Only if the Dems really wanted to win instead of committing political Hara Kiri one more time.

[messstower]

So, I am to believe that Edwards was/is gone only because this genius told him to step out?
Don't think so, maybe these backers did not do their job and vote for him!

While the RNC is frantically digging for the worst, they have found NOTHING on Obama!
They cannot seem to find out anything NEGATIVE on him personally.BUT who he knows!

As Hillary, they are saying there must be some woman some theft, some political crookedness, Something that this guy has done personally--YET they can find nothing even with Hillary's help!

The worst the 'Blue Collar Worker' Find, he is Black --- Some Blacks don't think he is Black enough!
Well, his mother is White and he was raised by White People what's the problem.
This guy is in a NO WIN situation.

[NDNlady]

Good grief! Can Joe Trippi not hear his own words?? "extremely painful path"? "forcing a brokered convention"? "embattled and exhausted party"? "weary democrats"? That's where you would have us be in August with no time to generate unity and a strong campaign for the general. But that's OK if it means your candidate is the nominee. That's exactly why I have come to so disrespect the Clintons because of this kind of egocentric approach and the resultant scorched earth tactics. Hey, Joe, there's another "Joe" with a blog here. Joe Andrews. Read it. And if you really love this country and this party and still have some influence with John Edwards, you can ask him for me if he has the backbone to endorse Obama NOW. Before next Tuesday. When it could conceivably do some good. As opposed to waiting to see "what's in it for him"!

[longislandlol]

They were perhaps trying to follow the old nixonian playbook--- v.p. for 8 years-- then an 8 year lull-- then Pres.-- but at least he won v.p. -- took a long break after losing big to the dems-- then reigned triumphantly-- Edwards is still young-- he can wait another 8 years too--

[camanoone]

Trippi and David Axelrod are two peas in a pod. Their both losers. Has Trippi ever won anything but a loud whining contest?

[indyny]

How the hell is this Trippi's decision to make? If Edwards was incapable of making the decision to pull out, he was ill-equipped to become president.

[pmorlan]

You really should read the entire article before you make your comment.

[Daisy1111]

Trippi screwed up Dean's presidential run and now he' admits he screwed up Edwards' second run for president.

2 for 2.

[FJRinLA]

THE CLINTONS SUCCESSFULLY FROZE/INTIMIDATED THE EDWARDS FOR MONTHS INTO MORE IRRELEVANCY THAN BILL RICHARDSON

At this point, they're probably too scared of suffering any Clinton backlash to do anything other than back The Clintons or stay neutral.

The Edwards have overplayed their hand and allowed the Clintons to persuade them early on, as they did with Bill Richardson and others, to just wait when they were previously inclined to endorse Obama.

Superdelegates that acceptedThe Clintons' invitation to wait were, knowingly or unknowingly, agreeing to be willing accomplices to everything The Clintons have done in the interim to raise Obama's negatives, which has been the #1 Clinton Campaign priority since the IOWA results were fully absorbed.

This realization is what gave Bill Richardson pause and has also startled others into action who either had underwritten The Clinton Insurgency unwittingly or had just grown weary of the time it was taking to impact the race. It's more likely that the Edwards, who had been arguing that Obama needed to be "tougher" all along, played along savvily with The Clintons by staying on the sidelines up to this point.

Whatever they do now will appropriately be viewed as driven purely by their calculated self-interest, particularly if they split their endorsements or in any way endorse The Clintons (health care mandates not withstanding).

The net result is that they have fiddled while the DEM Party needed leadership; and have thus contributed greatly to their own current & future irrelevance.

[illinoisan]

Trippi should have persuaded Edwards to endorse Obama early on when his nod would have meant something. However, one gets the impression that the Trippi-types look at the world through the lens of there own careers, not the good of the party or the country.

[harriscrl3]

Ha Ha this is funny if Edwards had Stayed in the race Obama would have LOCKED up the nomination. Remember he was sharing the White blue collar vote with Hilary. She is the one that benefited from Him getting out of the race.

Then theres the little thing of Edwards FAILING to win a state which affected Edwards ability to RAISE money. Edwards was in the race and even when Obama and Clinton were squabbling like at the SC debates he FAIILED to capitalize that is why he is out of the race. People preferred Hilary and Obama it wasnt some big conspiracy to run him out. There is no mystery with these races you just need to win.

Carol

[Rebelfriend]

Carol, For many months, Edwards was giving both Obama and Clinton their platforms. He was the the leader in ideas, and had the mainstream media given him equal coverage, Edwards would have been able to raise the money, and possibly win the nomination. But because Edwards was so honest and told the truth -- in the process making clear he would put the well-being of the people and the country ahead of corporate greed -- the MSM, which is controlled by a handful of mega-corporations who WANT a corporate-friendly president -- purposely refused to give him the coverage they knew he needed to be able to compete. That included letting people know that in the general election matchups against McCain, Edwards FAR out-performed either Obama or Clinton. And does anyone actually believe the Republicans could do to Edwards what they are doing to Obama and Clinton? Please. With Edwards as the nominee we would have easily taken back the White House. But Americans are lazy. They are too easily manipulated by the media. They don't look for the Truth. So, at last, we get what we deserve, don't we? And that may well be McCain.

[Chiklav]

I'm an Edwards supporter. Everyone can dis the MSM yet fall for all they dish out to you; including the 2 worst choices. Edwards is right not to endorse either. People jumped on a bandwagon and drank Kool-aid. Edwards was right there with us on the issues facing our country and that was too easy for the MSM. They wanted to hand us the 2 most controversial. These 2 just don't cut it with the right stuff to get our country out of this mess. Edwards won by forcing the others to speak to the real issues. Yet the best Hillary did was copy his healthcare plan. Both BO & HC have changed their tunes on things like trade, stopping global warming,(yet they are for coal plants!) they are up and down on what they'll do with Iraq. John led the platform. Now there is no one to keep them in check. We lost 2 other great candidates in Biden and Dodd to the Media's BO, HC blitz. This election is all about them. MSM is having a field day. People are so blinded by their Idolized candidates they can't see beyond them to the needs of the country. None of it is going to get our country on the right track.
Pray God we have a brokered election and real Democrats stand up for the right reasons and issues for the country and find us a real leader to beat McCain.

[oogabooga]

How about Edwards as Obama's VP? Sounds pretty potent. Then Edwards could get some experience and run after Obama's two terms.

[oommoore]

I agree

[jah2008]

No, I disagree. He'll be a weak link to Obama's candidacy. We need to make an offer that the Dems can't refuse. No, not Hillary. But someone who can complement Obama. Maybe a woman candidate from one of the rural states.

[Rebelfriend]

Surely you jest. Edwards could get some experience by serving under Obama? Who do you think gave Obama and Clinton their platforms? Who do you think drove this campaign with his ideas, positions, strength and will to change this country? Obama did not get his voice until he listened to Edwards. It was when he started copying Edwards (who was not getting the media coverage for what he was saying) and emulating Edwards, that he finally started moving forward.

[bellecloche]

The twisting of logic in this primary race is just insane. Now someone's saying that the THIRD-place candidate should have won because voters would be turned off by the top-two fighting for first? The top two ALWAYS fight because they each have the biggest chance - from elections to the Olympics - and Edwards would have been battling just as hard if he had come nearly as close.

[drblack]

I think he should have stayed in as well, as should have most of the candidates of both parties.
Things change quickly in politics and without an incumbent on the ballot it could go to any Democrat.