Elizabeth Edwards, The Untouchable Attack Dog

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

BARACK OBAMA, HILLARY CLINTON, JOHN EDWARDS

Instapundit thinks John Edwards would be in better shape if we heard from Elizabeth Edwards less.

"[Hillary] even, in the New Hampshire debate said, 'I made a mistake.' People are looking for a mea culpa from her. And when she buried a line like that –- I give her credit for saying that –- but when she buries that line... we're electing a leader of the free world, and just like the votes on this last funding bill, we're looking for a leader," [Elizabeth ]Edwards contended.

And while Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., was in the Illinois state legislature and not the Senate in 2003, Mrs. Edwards equally questioned his motives.

"Obama gives a speech that's likely to be extraordinarily popular in his home district," Edwards said, "and then comes to the Senate and votes for funding... so you are going to get people behaving in a holier-than-thou way."

Mrs. Edwards was similarly no-holds-barred on the issue of health care.

"Hillary is saying we need to develop a political will," Mrs. Edwards stated, referencing her personal battle with cancer and the stories she's heard from other patients who can't afford health care, "She hasn't been talking to people if she thinks we need to develop it. We do not."
Taking aim at Obama, Mrs. Edwards continued, "I don’t know why it took six months, but I'm glad he has a (health care) plan now. It doesn’t cover fifteen million people. If you're one of those fifteen million, it's not universal for you. The fact that he says he'll fix it later, that's not the kind of bold response we need on a problem that is important to America."

Mrs. Edwards added that any divide in the Democratic party this year among the candidates is the difference between "actual Democrats and rhetorical Democrats."

Later on, Mrs. Edwards accuses Obama of stealing her husband's rhetoric from 2004, which is funny, because "actual Democrats and rhetorical Democrats" reminds me a lot of Howard Dean's "I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party."

I have to disagree with Glenn regarding the political impact of Mrs. Edwards' comments. When John Edwards gives a speech, there's little or no reaction. When Elizabeth Edwards jabs at her husband's rivals, there's a much bigger reaction, and one of two scenarios will occur: 1) They ignore her comments, and the criticism goes unanswered (an approach many Democrats feel sunk John Kerry, regarding the Swift Boat Vets for Truth) or 2) they respond in kind, prompting John Edwards to tell the rival to stop picking on his wife who's fighting cancer, painting the rival as a bully. It's a win-win.

UPDATE: Heh. Jeff Dobbs suggests Mrs. Edwards wants John to speak less.

08/14 10:22 AM Share