Obama is going after Edwards because his internal polling shoes him in 3rd place and he knows a 3rd place finish in Iowa would finish him off. He can't catch Hilary so he is trying to salvage 2nd place.

I am a John Edwards supporter all the way.
I think Obama would be an excellent V.P. for Edwards.
We do NOT want another Clinton in the White House anymore than
we ever want to see another Bush in there. We have had enough of both to
last us a lifetime !!
Give Edwards/Obama a chance for a positive change.
If Clinton ends up with the nomination………..I may "also" go Republican and I certainly don't want to do THAT !!

to Paul in Rochestor:

I believe things are not always what they seem in campaigns (obviously), and what I believe we are seeing here is the future POTUS/VP, one way or the other, "arguing" over who is more the agent of change, in order to psychologically leave Hillary out of the picture entirely. The message is, "if this is what is important, here's your choices, pick one or the other…oh, her over there? She's got other reasons for running."

Explicity or implicity, I believe Obama and Edwards are still working together to push Hillary out of the picture, a smart move by both, in my opinion.

and to Steven in Charleston:

I just want to say, great post. There's always a lot of bickering in political message boards of any type, but a posting like yours is actually effective. I'm a highly interested, though not astute follower of politics, and had been considering Edwards as my #2 Dem, one whom I would vote for in the general, should he win the nomination. I was not even aware of Edwards' "Plan for America", and have not read it yet, but I will be, as soon as I hit Submit here. I do agree, the Edwards coverage has been about as weak as the Ron Paul coverage.

Fellows, knock it off. The two of you could easily be the President and VP during this election. I would vote for either of you individually, and together you can take our party the whole way. Stop the snipping and go after Hillary because if she gets the nomination it will chase me and many other registered Democrats over to the Republican side.

lets the boys argue! CLINTON WILL BE PRESIDENT

How do you "…fight for change" when on Senate matters that can make a change, you vote "Present" so as not to offend anyone?

How do you equate the spider-webs on the chair (from disuse) at the head of the Foreign Relations Committee with vast knowledge of "…how the world views the United States"?

Obama is nothing more than an opportunist who sees his chance to further his own ego. He should have stuck to what he was reasonably adequate in accomplishing: helping his constituents in Chicago as a Civil Rights lawyer.

Obama is not ready to lead. He has too little experience. Oprah and Michele will tell him what to do. He avoids voting by saying it is unconstitutional. I do not believe for one minute that the congress would waste it's time voting on "100″ unconstitutional bills. He is absent so that he can say " I did not vote on a bill if it is controversial. If I missed 100 days of work, I would be fired. Don't be bushwacked by Obama.

People who are supporting Edwards are not smart enough to find out that he iswasting his time and ultimatly ruining Obama chances to win the nomination.
1.In 2004, J.Edwards did not deliver his own state to Kerry
2.Even now , he is trailing Clinton and Obama in his own state
3.He lacks funds to go to distances after IA.
4.He reminds me of Al Gore, who could not carry his own state because if Al Gore just did win TN, Florida would have been less headache for him.

My logic is simple, being a fomer VP candidate, Edwards should have been doing good, but he is not,. which means that he has no chance to win the nomination.

As one who grew up in the Great Depression, I remember when we had another man who had very big house, was very rich, and wanted to be president. This man became president, and in his presidency, he did more for the common working man than the Republican Party has done in its entire existence.

The mansion he lived in was called Hyde Park and his name was Franklin Roosevelt.

Just how poor must one be, before he can try to help working people?

These are the tactics which we can expect near the finish line. Both Edwards and Obama have been accused of being "too nice" to deal with Putin and some of the other world leaders out there, so they probably figure they won't lose much by dishing some dirt on the other campaigns. I guess what we can take away from it is that neither Edwards nor Obama is a saint.

With regards to foreign policy, particularly the Middle East, my gut feeling is that the candidates would perform as follows (in descending order):

Ready today: Biden, McCain

May stumble at first, but will recover and make a good showing (like JFK with the Bay of Pigs, then the Cuban Missile crisis): Obama, Guiliani

Smart enough, knowledgeable enough, not tough enough: Richardson

Likely to be weak and indecisive: Hillary, Edwards

Blissfully clueless: Romney, Huckabee

Edwards and Obama sure pose a gorgeous photo together and both look very presidential/vice presidential. Unfortunately, this election is not a beauty contest because Bush and Cheney's photo would have never made it, or was Bush and Cheney's election about intelligence. So now we have Edwards and Obama both gorgeous and intelligent.

As much as I don't like Edwards, I am really beginning to see the real Obama. He is a snake under the grass. He attacks and when someone attacks him, he cries foul. You talk about CNN being biased to the Clinton's (which I strongly disagree), check out MSNBC. I want to puke everytime I turn to that channel. That Chris Matthews just has to be on Obama's payroll for sure. It's disgusting. Faux news also knows as Fox at least they are consistent by bashing all democrats.

You Obama supporters should all be worried about his foreign policy experiece. Claiming in his speech today on the stump that Osama is somewhere in the WOODS between Pakistan and Afganistan. If he understood his geography, he will have known that there are no WOODS between those two borders but MOUNTAINS. This is the guy people want to trust as President at a time of war. No thanks.

Thank you Steven in Charleston, SC. Why do people trash Edwards for having money? He along with Obama earned their money by rising up from the lower classes of America. They embody the American dream. I would vote for a self made person any day of the week and twice on Sunday. No Daddy's money in these 2 campaigns.

john is a rich man and why cant he explain how he became so rich,by exploiting the very same people that he wants to take care ,he does not need the lobbiyst money why because he is one of them ,

These two are kicking the crap out of each other, and leaving Sen Clinton alone. Bad, very bad.

I'm for Biden, but if I had to choose between Edwards and Obama, I'd have to go with Obama. Edwards' us-versus-evil-corporate-greed schtick is getting old and he doesn't wear it well. He comes across as a phony to me. Obama, though I'm sure is also plenty sophisticated politically, seems far more genuine to me. Even if they were both equally evil internally, I want the better actor.

Edward is rich. Why would he want to take money from someone else when he can afford to pay for everything.

I think that the candidates would b better off ignoring the remarks made about them. It would show more class than to rebuke them. We r not interested in the mud slinging and i would hope that it would stop before it gets filthy dirty
sandy

Golly! When I was in politics, only 25-30 years ago, the Dems didn't have an "Attack & Destroy" way of campaigning. How stupid will it look when the losers have to support their nominee, whoever s/he is?

I personally don't think any of them are truly "phonies," it is just Politics that makes them so. What has become of this country's elections is despicable to me - and I blame the fact that no one learns about their responsibilities as citizens - to at least try to understand how the gov't works and why it is important to VOTE.
The USA is now into easy, quick, violent, simple answers (or slogans), so I don't blame the politicians. We get what we deserve.

Even so, I still have hope. I will vote for Edwards in our primary here (Feb 5). I'd be so happy if we ever elect a woman or a black person as president. Even next year. But John E. is my man…

Edwards is going to fix our system? Is he serious? Does anyone else remember that Edwards is the guy who got his start by making millions in malpractice lawsuits? Now he wants us to believe his spin when he claims he was fighting for the little guy when in actuality he sometimes took up to 40% comissions (search for Edwards, Kerry and lawsuit on the NYtimes to see the article to which I'm referring that came out soon after he was nominated to be Kerry's sidekick)? He wants to claim he's an agent for change but what has he done as a senator? At least Obama had the guts to speak out against Iraq and to walk the walk as this article points out.

Neither Obama nor Edwards can win if the other is in the race. At the same time, each have a shot in a two person race with Hillary. It's all about the huge anti-Hillary vote. Either would be stronger in the general election, although Edwards is clearly the strongest of the three.

Btw, neither is pure as the driven snow on this, but Edwards' point that Obama is compromised as an agent of change by the $70 million he's raised is legitimate. At least Edwards has taken a stand on money in politics now (even if by necessity).

The Assassination of Fmr. PM Bhutto is upsetting. Pakistan is suffering greatly at this loss. But within the political confusion in Pakistan, why are U.S. Presidential candidates complicating the situation? The United States has ONE President and our condolences, views, opinions and policies should be communicated thru Him. Regardless if you like him or not, BUSH is our elected leader. John Edwards, Joe Binden, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Juliani and the like should NOT be calling over to Pakistan talking to anyone about anything. Edwards isnt even a Senator or a U.S. Representative - what the hell is he doing calling the President of Pakistan? It sends mixed messages to the world that the U.S. President is not in control. Edwards, Binden, Clinton and Juliana are only calling Pakistan to have a sound-bite to look Presidential before the primaries. OBAMA is the only one who came out on Top in this situation. He contacted the U.S. State Department for answers. OBAMA showed great leadership in following the President of the United States. The Presidential candidates should remember they are meerly that… CANDIDATES!

John Edwards should give up and go home to his wife and secret girlfriend, Riele hunter, who's expecting his baby.

He doesn't have a 50-states strategy, he doesn't have any money to compete with Clinton and Obama, he cannot win the Women vote, he cannot win the black vote.

What in the friggin hell is this man doing in this race? He had his chance in 2004- he won only 2 primaries and couldn't even help John Kerry win his own home state in the general election. What a shame!

Has anybody out there checked Mr. Edwards' campaign finance reports at the FEC.gov site? There are some PACs to which it does not appear he returned their contributions to them.

Why do our presidential elections always turn out to be a three ring circus with the politicians the main clown act?

Edwards is a joke. He couldn't even win his home county for his ticket in 2004.

That is good news! This will be the last we see of him…and her!

Does anyone have any opinions about this ongoing battle between Edwards and Obama?? It doesn't make sense to me…they drag each other through the mud, while Clinton stays above the fray, and she wins Iowa, especially with her new, very serious and experienced tone on the campaign trail. It seems like it is already taking its toll on Obama.; in the latest LA Times/Bloomberg poll, Clinton leads Edwards by 6% and Obama by 9% in Iowa.

Do the campaigns know something we don't?

Is Edwards really going to pounce on Obama for taking lobbyists money in the past when he accepted more than $3 million in support from 527s just this week? Man, John, way to hand Obama big stick to whack you with just days before the caucus. But as an Obama supporter I say go ahead and open up this front. In 2004, Mr. Edwards, you were crying about 527s yet almost four years later they've provided your bankrupt campaign the only support it can get. So I guess it's okay if they're 527s on your behalf and can be called SwiftBoatersforEdwards? What a hypocrite. The dude with the least elected legislative experience in either party's nomination race and he comes up with this one? I hope Iowans are paying attention…and they are.

This is cowardise. Obama is running away from what he has been doing for the past many years: accountability. Obama knows that 8 years of tough legislations and votes will show his indicisiveness and expose him to the true definition of relevant experience. To date he has thrived by skipping tough decisions as state senator and wants to do the same as US senator. His strategy has been to climb the ladder as fast as one can before voting records show one's weaknesses.

Obama knows that the next 8 years will do more harm to his purity - actually, avoidence - of skipping up the ladder so fast before the dust settles on truth. Eight years will sufficienntly open Obama to challenges on his voting records and he is trying to avoid it as early as possible. All this crap about my wife saying it's now or never is a total lie.

Rewind:
This is the most outregeous comment ever from the Obama campaign? It is the lowest level of desperation any campaign could show at exploiting Bhutto's death for political ends. Sincerely, how could any one link Clinton to Bhutto's death if it isn't a case of desperation? To say Clinton is responsible for Bhutto's death because she voted to authorize war in Iraq and that she votted to lebel the Iranian Republican Army a terrorist organization is from the brains of the simplest of simpletons.

If that is what David Axelrod believes is a political stregy I sympathize with the deficiencies in the Obama campaign. It is desperation that will fatally lay to waste the Obama campaign before Iowa Jan 3rd.

David Axelrod speaks like a mental case and I sincerely believe that he is even by just looking at his facial composure and body language. The whole Obama campaign will sink beyond rescue on Jan 3rd in Iowa because of Axelrod's dumb remarks. How silly can one be. Believe me.

The time has come, and will quickly pass, for Obama to show us the way forward through leadership and actions that comport with his message. So far we have not seen anything by way of his conduct that bears a facsimile to his rhetoric and promise of being a change agent. Barak missed the omnibus spending bill vote, and has missed some 80% of Senate votes since May. Why should we believe this guy has what it takes? If he has what it takes, why did he come out in his first post-xmas speech touting that he got "8 hours of sleep for Xmas". Sounds like preservation of the illusion of heroism, as opposed to leadership.

Let's wake up America, Barak is far from ready to lead!

Well, it's light, but at least Edwards is getting ~some~ coverage! By reading this ticker, you would barely know he's running, let alone in a 3-way tie in Iowa and ~leading~ in the electability polls!

Ok, let's be honest here — when it comes to special interest money, no one is pure. And I'm sure Edwards didn't complain too much when the 527 ads supporting him started running. But he is also the only one who has had the guts to refuse any PAC money, and to sign on to public election financing — something neither Clinton or Obama has done. If he wins the nomination he will do so having maintained a level of independence that neither of the others will.

I have to wonder, how many people have truly taken the time to read and understand Edwards' comprehensive plan for America? It is clearly laid out in an 80-page, downloadable document on his website. All the other candidates talk about how they are going to affect "change," but they do so in broad terms — only Edwards has had the guts to say "HERE IS MY PLAN!" If you have read it and think he has the wrong ideas for America, fair enough. But if you are supporting one of the other candidates without even bothering to read Edwards' ideas, then you are doing him, yourself, and the entire country a disservice.

"And to all of those who are missing a loved one, there are no words any of us can express, except to tell you in the clearest possible terms we will — in a united American response — support you, offer assistance to you, stand with you, and pursue those who reached deep into your family homes yesterday and took someone you loved away from you."
-Hillary Clinton, 12 Sep. 2001

…How is diverting our forces from Afghanistan to Iraq, a country which had nothing to do with 9/11, pursuing "those who reached deep into your family homes yesterday and took someone you loved away from you"? Saddam Hussein was not responsible for a single American death on 9/11, yet he's dead. Osama Bin Laden was responsible and he remains free because of Clinton and the Neocons' War in Iraq.

On January 3rd, 2008, the voters in Iowa will take Hillary "Empty Suit" Clinton to task for her empty promises and empty gestures that left America's brave and proud with so many empty hearts and empty pockets.

It's sort of funny to hear Edwards argue this. Edwards had one term as a senator. Obama has held office since 1996 and has a record of getting tough laws passed. What has Edwards done besides vote for the Iraq war, and buy himself a senatorial seat? (By the way, Edwards- mr. middle class- is LITERALLY 25 times richer than Obama. Obama, with 1.3 mil in assets is down right poor compared to Edwards- who acts as if he has a clue about what it's like to worry about paying the mortgage.)

EDWARDS IS A FILTHY RICH, UPPER CRUST, PHONY.

Obama the pitbul is back…..keep barking

Does anyone have any opinions about this ongoing battle between Edwards and Obama?? It doesn't make sense to me…they drag each other through the mud, while Clinton stays above the fray, and she wins Iowa, especially with her new, very serious and experienced tone on the campaign trail. It seems like it is already taking its toll on Obama.; in the latest LA Times/Bloomberg poll, Clinton leads Edwards by 6% and Obama by 9% in Iowa.

Do the campaigns know something we don't?