Dem Debate is Audition for Edwards Boosters

Tonight's Democratic Presidential Debate, coming as it does on the heels of John Edwards' announcement that he is ending his campaign for the Presidency, could be a golden opportunity for the two remaining candidates, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, to woo Edwards' supporters. With the former Senator declining, for the moment, to endorse one or the other candidate, it's open season on the Edwards faithful.

Political pundits have been scrambling like cockroaches to pick up a narrative thread on which way these voters will break, analyzing race and gender, studying super-thin polling data, and mixing and matching the candidates' platforms. In my view, a huge factor in Edwards' success will also be a major influence on where his supporters go: It's the Message, Stupid!

As soon as John Edwards dropped out of the race, it was as though the scales fell from the news media's eyes, and it has been wall-to-wall Edwards ever since. With voters' awareness of Edwards' message at an all-time high, all eyes will be on tonight's debate to see who can best live up to it.

So, in keeping with the audition theme, for tonight, I will be Simon Cowell, you, dear readers, can be Randy Jackson, and we'll let Chris Matthews be Paula Abdul. Meet me back on The Political Machine tonight, and we'll see who earned the golden ticket.

RomneyGirl, your analysis is spot-on. He needs to stay on his game, not hers. I only saw a couple minutes of last night's debate, McCain got in some showy licks on your guy re: endorsements. Mitt walked right into it. I really hope he picks up steam against McCain, because the media is anointing him already.


Tommy Links:

Tommy's Facebook | Tommy's Mom, The Lady of Light | The Specious Report | Tommy's Youtube