Lot's of sour grapes out there today. Some who will pick up their toys and stay home on election night if Edwards is not the nominee, others who vow to fight on in NH and beyond. I can understand how they feel, I feel the same way. But I am jumping ship now and I want my fellow Kossacks to know why.
Please follow me below the jump.
Frankly, it's a matter of practicality for me. It has been evident to me that Iowa was make or break, I think even Edwards himself had acknowledged that some time ago. Even if he had not, by accepting public funding, he virtually insured it. But that is not the whole story.
Indeed, there are other more dramatic reasons. Iowa's massive turnout not only broke records, it shattered them. And among those huge numbers, one of the biggest factors, probably the deciding factor, was the youth turnout. This group went from being the traditionally smallest voting block, to one of the largest.
I believe this was not an aberration, I believe it's a harbinger of things to come, and not a bad thing at all. It means that the "establishment" has been turned on it's ear. That a new and very powerful voice in American politics has risen and come to the fore. Obama has been successful in courting this new force and it makes him a true juggernaut.
But it also means something more. Obama appeals to this group in large measure because his tone is one of hope and optimism and perhaps conciliation. Edwards seemed to me to be playing the angry white man role. Americans have had enough of angry white men for the past seven years. As we might have said in my old rural Georgian home, that dog just won't hunt anymore.
While I certainly agree that the oposition needs to be defeated, not bargained with, I think this country has had it's full measure of beating up on opponents. This country has been badly split and there is a real desire among Americans to try to come together. Edwards ignored that while Obama successfully tapped into it, and he did it in a state that is 94% white. That's not just a fluke, it's a phenom.
You could see the ramifications in Bill Clinton's dismayed face at Hillary's post election speech. And David Gergen, that most moderate of conservatives but also most pragmatic looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming 18 wheeled truck. What I saw in those faces was not just shock, it was resignation. The resignation that comes from two very intelligent men who have spent their lives in the political arena and almost always having been right in what they believed about how the public will react to various things. They could see that a major sea change has just taken place and nothing will turn the tide. The ship has sailed and they missed the boat, and both of them clearly knew it.
What happened in Iowa last night was not just any election. This was not just Obama winning, Edwards coming in second, and Clinton losing. No this was something much more profound. This was the changing of the guard. Edwards, who's heart is in the right place in my book, for better or worse, still represents some of the elements of the old guard that were so soundly rejected last night.
So while I still believe 100% in his message that the special interests, big business lobbiests, and the corrupt washington insiders need to be fought and defeated, it's clear to me now that the people of Iowa and I believe this nation would prefer to do that with a dash of conciliation and respect for everyone even those on the opposite side of the fence, not with contempt and utter disdain. Obama represents a more humane face to the challenges ahead, and his message of hope offers an opportunity for this country to come together and walk side by side into the future.