Right Pundits

John Edwards announced his intention on Thursday to become our nation’s 44th President in 2008. The announcement of his candidacy was overlooked by me, and perhaps many others in the wake of Gerald Ford’s death.

And perhaps the announcement was overlooked for another more important reason. John Edwards is a lightweight. He is not prepared to be a president, and should decidedly not become our nation’s president in 2008.

Fitting that the announcement coincided with former President Ford’s passing because it allows us to starkly contrast the two men. When Gerald Ford became president in 1973, he had been Vice President of the United States, served in Congress for 24 years, House Minority Leader for 8 years, immediately enlisted and served in the Navy after Pearl Harbor, and even was an All-American football star. No question he was prepared for the nation’s most important job, a fact confirmed by his good judgment in office.

John Edwards, on the other hand, was barely elected a U.S. Senator for six years and accomplished virtually nothing during that short time in Congress. That’s the entirety of his resume. He was neither admired nor respected by even his Senatorial peers. He now has the curious job title of “Director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity” at the University of North Carolina, and he continues in a lucrative lobbying role for Fortress Investment Group LLC.

And yet, he would be our President. Let’s be honest. The ONLY reason any voter gives John Edwards a second look is that he is a cute man. That will unfortunately carry sway with some voters, as it has since the television political era began with JFK. He knows that, and it is a pathetic indictment of his character that he runs for President on that basis alone. Doesn’t he know why he was selected to be John Kerry’s running mate? Of course he does. People magazine named Edwards the “sexiest politician alive” in 2000. Isn’t that enough? And that is why Edwards announced his candidacy on YouTube where his important future voting block, teenage girls, spend their free time.

Former vice presidential nominee John Edwards declared his candidacy Thursday for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, saying the United States needs to re-establish its leadership role for an unstable, chaotic world, starting by withdrawing troops from
Iraq.

Edwards chose work clothes and the backyard of a victim of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans’ devastated Ninth Ward for his announcement. “We want people in this campaign to actually take action now, not later, not after the next election,” the former North Carolina senator said, sounding as much like a recruiter as a presidential campaigner.

Edwards, 53, is calling for an increase in community service and cuts in poverty, global warming and troops in Iraq. He said he made a mistake in voting for a resolution to go to war with Iraq, but also noted that he did not conduct the war. He said the Bush administration’s leadership in Iraq has been a disaster and that it would be a mistake to send in more troops.

The full story.