Jake Tapper: The Rise & Fall of Democrat John Edwards

"Watch new episodes of United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper Sundays at 9p ET on CNN and Season 1 ‪@StreamOnMax‬. Jake Tapper rewinds the affair of former North Carolina Senator and VP candidate John Edwards by speaking with the woman at the center of it all, Rielle Hunter." 

Source:CNN with a look at John Edwards presidential campaigns.

From CNN

Just to give you a little personal information about myself and how I felt about John Edwards when he was a serious Democratic presidential candidate: 

Back in 2003-04 when I was 26-27 years old, I was a John Kerry supporter for President. But I was also watching John Edwards campaign, as well as Howard Dean's and I thinking who might be the best running mate for Senator Kerry. 

John Kerry had the perfect professional, political makeup and experience to be President of the United States, for a Democrat, in the 2000s: 

Baby Boomer

Vietnam War veteran

Lawyer

Prosecutor

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

3-term U.S. Senator who had a lot of economic, as well as foreign policy and national security knowledge, serving on the Finance and Foreign Relations committees

Solid Liberal New Democrat from the Bill Clinton era of the Democratic Party

But what Senator Kerry had in professionalism, he lacked in personality. You talk to him personally or do a casual interview with him, he comes off as a pretty nice guy, with good sense of humor, very intelligent. But you listen to him give a policy speech and you almost wish you were an insomniac, or meth-head  looking  for their first sleep in weeks. He could be so dull, you also rather stare at a wall in the dark, then listen to Senator Kerry about anything. And that's where John Edwards comes in. 

What John Kerry gave the Kerry-Edwards Campaign in 2004 in professionalism, Edwards gave that campaign in personality. Edwards was 51 at the time, but look like and acted like he could be 40 with his boyish looks and fun personality. Which hurt him in the Vice Presidential debate, because he looked like Dick Cheney's son in that debate learning the ropes when it came to foreign policy and national security. Even though Vice President Cheney and Senator Edwards are only 12 years apart in real life. 

John Edwards didn't cost John Kerry the 2004 election. Kerry blew that by not spending more money that they had in the bank in Ohio and perhaps Florida as well, that they could've put into advertising and getting the vote out. And Edwards did well enough, was so likable, in 2004, that he became a leading Democratic contender for 2007-08, especially since he was now out of the U.S. Senate can could spend all his time on campaigning and organizing. 

Without then Senator Barack Obama, who knows, maybe John Edwards beats Senator Hillary Clinton. I doubt that because Edwards sort of had a Gary Hart "where's the beef" problem (to paraphrase Walter Mondale) where he could give a great speech and talk about what we need to do as a country, but without offering any details as far as how we would accomplish what he's talking about. A John Edwards speech could be like a bowl of tomato soup... but without the tomato. It could be very empty. Or like drinking a nonalcoholic beer: what's the point? 

And it's a good thing for the Democrats that Senator Edwards didn't win the 2008 nomination, because his sex scandal broke in the summer of that year and there probably goes the women's vote for him as a result. 

As far as his sex scandal and the Senator having an extra-marital-affair with a woman who worked for him, while his wife was dealing with cancer: I think John Edwards is the perfect example of someone who represents America at it's best and worst. All his ideals and values that he promotes are all very good. But in his private life, he can be as bad as the rest of us when it comes to our personal relationships.

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