Ian Welsh recalls the way John Edwards's argument about the economy disappeared, or was disappeared, from the national discussion

Since John Edwards's 2008 campaign was disposed of, and then the candidate himself, his "Two Americas" campaign theme has disappeared with him.

"Edwards' trial was a politically motivated show trial. The goal was to make sure that everyone thinks that there was no left wing candidate in the election and that Obama is the best you could ever do."

-- Ian Welsh, in a May 2012 post he has just republished

by Ken

I'm going to guess it's not uncommon among people who might read DWT to have heard the opening of a discussion during the early stages of the 2012 Democratic presidential primary season which wasn't being proposed by any candidate except John Edwards, before the campaign and then the candidate himself seemingly self-destructed before our eyes. I'm not poor, but I'm not rich either, and what Edwards seemed to be saying about "The Two Americas" held the promise of describing the economy within which I was and still am living -- an economy that has more or less edited out an awfully large segment of the population, myself emphatically included.

And then Edwards was gone, leaving me still wanting to hear more, and instead hearing less. Yes, there's certainly a similar underlying message in most everything Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says, and certainly Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been asking some hard questions about how Americans are intended to be included or excluded from participation in the U.S. economy. But a national candidate who puts this at the center of his/her thinking about how the U.S. economy is meant to work? Not so much.

So I'm glad that Ian Welsh has dug into the archive to recirculate a post he originally published on May 31, 2012.

His trial has been declared a mistrial.

The personal is not the political. His wife seemed like a good person, but I could care less. FDR cheated on his wife. JFK screwed hookers in the White House pool while married.

The facts about John Edwards that I care about are these:

1) He was the only major politician who made a big issue of poverty.

2) He was the only major politician to say he didn’t believe in the war on terror.

3) The reason the affair came to light is because he stopped paying her off, which he did because he was no longer in the race.

The children who thought that having a black president, despite the fact that he was, on domestic policy, worse than EVERY other democratic nominee, are why the US is so fucked right now. (And yes, he was worse on domestic policy than even Hillary Clinton. Don’t believe me, believe Paul Krugman.)

Edwards' trial was a politically motivated show trial. The goal was to make sure that everyone thinks that there was no left wing candidate in the election and that Obama is the best you could ever do. Well, that and a personal hatred, as best I can tell. Obama refused to cut a deal with Edwards for support. What did Edwards ask for in exchange for support? Help for the poor.

Obama did cut a deal with Clinton, of course. He let her have State, so she could influence foreign policy, the ONE policy area where she was to his right.

Hmmm.

#