VRWC VS. THE WANNABES (part III):

Edwards's Raw Talent (David S. Broder, January 8, 2003, Washington Post)

At 49, he is a decade younger than most of the other Democrats, but he looks even younger -- not exactly the profile for a prospective wartime commander in chief.

And the same ambition that has jet-propelled his career can stir suspicions. Edwards has not foreclosed the possibility of running for reelection to a second term in the Senate next year, but many of the Democrats I know in North Carolina -- and virtually all the Republicans -- believe he has burned his bridges behind him. Votes he has cast on labor union matters and some social issues have won favor from important national Democratic constituencies but do not sit well with many voters at home. [...]

And television is still a risk for this highly telegenic candidate. His appearance on "Meet the Press" last May, where Tim Russert exposed his shakiness on foreign policy, was enough of a disaster that Edwards himself has asked Russert for a second chance. He did better last Sunday under the gentler examination of ABC's George Stephanopoulos, but he inexplicably froze on an unexpected question asking the identity of the philosopher most influential in his life. He filibustered for an agonizingly long time and finally said he couldn't answer.

Edwards is a New Democrat -- his principles echo those of President Clinton -- but unlike Clinton, he has not identified himself with the main network of those folks, the Democratic Leadership Council, apparently believing that his prospective rival Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut senator and 2000 vice presidential candidate, has the inside track there.

With Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri having strong ties in neighboring Iowa and with Boston's Kerry and former Vermont governor Howard Dean camped in New Hampshire, Edwards faces a tough early schedule before South Carolina votes.

Doesn't the section of this essay on how awful Edwards has been when being questioned by the press suggest that all that has come before is mere perception rather than reality? Most importantly, since his chief selling point is that he's a Southerner, does it not matter that even David Broder thinks he'd have a hard time being re-elected to the Senate from North Carolina? Posted by Orrin Judd at January 8, 2003 9:39 AM