NO, NO, NO, HE'D BE THE TOUGHEST NOMINEE TO BEAT SINCE LBJ IN '64...:

Is Edwards an Easy Mark (Steve Kornacki, May 22, 2007, NY Observer)

Granted. The issue of John Edwards’ pricey haircut is a silly one. And its staying power—the story is weeks old, yet the press still asks about it—is rightly insulting to Democrats who want their Presidential primary defined by weightier things.

But the truth is that it matters. It’s exactly the kind of tidbit that Republicans have used—to devastating effect—against three of the last four Democratic nominees, utterly overwhelming Democratic efforts to focus the elections on policy. [...]

The stories generated by the revelation that the Edwards campaign had spent $400 for a trim fed into an ongoing attempt to caricature the former Senator as a slick, rich hypocrite—a “limousine liberal” who lectures about poverty while living in gated opulence.

The haircut affair, remember, was preceded by this winter’s story about Mr. Edwards’ new home—a 28,000-square-foot “compound” outside Chapel Hill, N.C., complete with an indoor basketball court. All for a man who has used his stump speech to implore audiences not to live in economic segregation.

Rats, how will the GOP convince voters that Hillary or Barack Obama isn't just one of the guys?

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 23, 2007 1:30 PM