By Denny Freidenrich
After recently being hospitalized with blood clots to my right leg and lungs, I’m no longer a candidate for a marathon.
As sobering as this admission is, I think it’s only a matter of time before former Sen. John Edwards comes to a similar realization.
Despite his terrific first quarter fund-raising success and Elizabeth Edwards’ statements to the contrary, his wife’s cancer eventually is going to force him off the presidential campaign trail.
If my prediction sounds cruel, witness what’s happening to Edwards virtually every time he stands before reporters.
To be sure, the former vice presidential running mate has a lot to say about a living wage, universal healthcare, greenhouse gasses, Iraq and other critical issues facing this country.
I know this and so do the reporters covering him. Reporters also know something else: Edwards may be full of ideas but the voters want to talk about his wife.
Therein lies the rub.
Even though a recent CBS News Poll found that by more than 2-to-1, both men and women support his/their decision to carry on, how long can a presidential candidate run an unscripted campaign?
Some days will be better than others. On a good day, Edwards will stay on script and be heard. Other times, his wife’s health will overshadow the stump speech of the day. The question is when will the gap between the two morph together so tightly that Edwards’ message finally is drowned out?
On that fateful day, Edwards will have to admit his quest for the presidency is over.
Conventional wisdom suggests that when Edwards does drop out of the race, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama will be the last major Democratic contenders still standing. I would say this is generally true; however, 2007 is proving to be anything but conventional.
Don’t take my word for it.
As a means of regaining his footing, former GOP front-runner Sen. John McCain has taken to walking neighborhoods in Baghdad while Judith Nathan, Rudy Giuliani’s third wife, recently admitted she’d been married twice before, not once as previously reported.
Is it my blood clots or is this year simply bizarre?
With Clinton and Obama left to slug it out, are there any other surprises heading their way?
My feeling is yes, and his name is Al Gore. With Edwards out, this will be Gore’s chance to jump in.
Not that Gore will be on a fool’s errand. The former presidential candidate and environmental icon consistently ranks third in national polls behind the two current Democratic heavyweights.
Which begs the question: Who will Edwards support? My money,and maybe Edwards’ money, too,is on Gore.
Politically, geographically and stylistically this would make the most sense. It also would be a move relatively easy for Edwards’ donors and campaign volunteers to accept.
Ditto for Elizabeth Edwards.
I have always grown up with the notion that anything is possible, especially when it comes to presidential politics. With my recent health scare, I now know it’s not really possible for me to swim, bike and run a triathlon.
What is possible is to run four laps around the Laguna Beach High School track and feel really good.
Sen. Edwards’ marathon for the presidency will come to an end one of these days. When it does, he also can feel good knowing he’s on a short track, too.
Unlike anyone else this crazy political year, Edwards will be helping to elect Gore the next president.
Denny Freidenrich is the founder of First Strategies LLC of Laguna Beach. He’s a former congressional staff assistant, whose political commentaries have appeared in newspapers and magazines coast to coast. He can be reached at (949)494-2028.
