Oh My... John Edwards Is a Politician

For reasons I can't quite grasp, Charles Krauthammer devoted a lengthy column to attacking a candidate he views as having no chance of victory, John Edwards. It seems like a waste of a column to me, but maybe Krauthammer was out of ideas this week. Or maybe he hates Edwards "that much". Read it, and see how Krauthammer (yes, really) rushes to the defense of "left liberals":

A cynical farce that is particularly galling to authentic and principled left-liberals. "The one [presidential candidate] that is the most problematic is Edwards," Sen. Russ Feingold told the Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis., "who voted for the Patriot Act, campaigns against it. Voted for No Child Left Behind, campaigns against it. Voted for the China trade deal, campaigns against it. Voted for the Iraq war. . . . He uses my voting record exactly as his platform, even though he had the opposite voting record."

I think the critique of Edwards is largely fair - you should judge a candidate upon their actual voting record and, if they wish to depart from their record, they should have a good explanation. I don't think Edwards' departures have been adequately explained. But in fairness to Edwards, you could write a very similar piece about some of John McCain's more notable changes of heart, or perhaps noting his sometimes foolish consistency. And good luck finding any consistency in Mitt Romney's record....

Krauthammer saves the best for last:

It profits a man nothing to sell his soul for the whole world. But for 4 percent of the Nevada caucuses?

I'm sure that sent a chill down Edwards' spine. When you hear the voice of experience talking like that, it has to put a scare into you.