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Thursday, April 03, 2008

The Silence of John and Elizabeth Edwards...New York Magazine's John Heilemann on Who Councils Hillary and Whatever Else About the Rest of It....
Posted by Melina | 8:40 AM

This week's New York Magazine has a piece by John Heilemann , and Ive been turning the thing over and over in my head since I found it in the mailbox, and shortly thereafter got a call from my Mom who, upon receiving hers, was excitedly reporting to me about how this little piece contains some answers about the silence of John and Elizabeth Edwards. Mom was saying that clearly he and Elizabeth had had some sort of falling out with Obama and also that Elizabeth really, really hates Hillary.

Obviously she had just glanced at it, because the gist was really more about who councils Hillary and who is powerful enough in the democratic party to grab control of what seems to be a runaway train. The fact that Elizabeth Edwards finds Obama's health care plan to be not as good as Hillary's and that Obama had been supposedly "brusque" or rude to the Edwards' immediately following his withdrawal from the race, comes off as the gossipy headline but isn't the real story here. This is the sort of thing that you do find from time to time in New York Magazine, in that it can run with the more lurid lead, even in the face of a more substantial story, and people who do what my Mom does, which is to read the first paragraph and then scan the rest, can miss the point. And this is a kind of misleading journalism that is based on what the journalist can glean through his instant message interviews with party bigwigs, and just his gut, is a little misleading. I like Heilemann, but it seems that he is about opinion. Even as it seems like he is on the inside reporting real news, when you look through his columns, they are really opinion pieces, wrapped in whatever connections he has. I'm not saying hes wrong, but I read New York Magazine with a grain of salt, and I hope that everyone else does too.

Well, today Elizabeth Edwards responded to Heilemann's piece on Morning Joe. In her usual dignified way, she attacked just the gossipy parts and left the rest alone...though if Joe had been a better reporter he might have dug a little. The thing is that I don't think that he wants to go there; not really. Elizabeth stated that she didn't find Obama rude and actually found him quite charming. She did confirm that she doesn't like Obama's plan, and prefers Hillary's, and then she left the question of her storied open dislike for Clinton hanging.

Heilemann's in print guess seems to be that Elizabeth may be the reason that Johnny has not made an endorsement. Y'know, I'm pretty interested in knowing what the hell is going on in the Edwards camp, but this reaching and turning some vague snippets into a story that ends with sentences like "Maybe that's why he...." is a little pathetic. The piece implies, or rather states, that Edwards endorsement has been held up by how nice one or the other of the candidates was to him on the day of his withdrawal. Isn't that silly? Does that make any sense? These people are politicians, and yes they have big egos, but they also have thick skin, and there is no way that an entire strategy could come down to how one or the other acted towards him on that one day.

In going over how badly Obama did with the Edward's, Heilemann pushes the envelope further into concern for his diplomatic prowess, in comparison to the story that Hillary was all over them and was almost, maybe able to win Elizabeth over with her kindness and ass kissing. So, then...he goes on to say that if its true that Obama failed to impress Edwards, he doesn't have the diplomatic skills to run the country! And McCain does? Clinton does? Bush does? I dunno...
I suppose that this is one area that Hillary has more experience than the average politician, because she traveled alot as first lady and was around the necessary niceties in diplomatic exchange, but I'd hardly call Obama a slouch, and certainly not because of this! But Heilemann must know that the art of ass-kissing is a very ass-specific endeavor, and best carried out by people who are very adept and the bend over and twist. I find this all a little embarrassing and rather condescending to the Edwards and everyone else involved in this farce of a democratic process...especially the main stream media.


The real point of this story is that Gore and Edwards are the most powerful people in the democratic party right now and...who is going to stop Hillary??? He eventually wends through the merits of Pelosi or Reid talking to her and how much weight or clout Terry McAuliffe or Stephanie Tubbs Jones might have. But ultimately, it appears, that even here, in the lap of gossip, Hillary listens to no one but herself....and that, my friends, is the real reason for everything that is happening.


We're fighting for our lives here, people, lets try to focus on McCain and his lies, lies, lies!
Its apparent that this thing is gonna go all they way because the M$M needs to sell soap, and the daytime drama market is just not cutting it.

c/p RIPCoco

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6 Comments:
Blogger benny06 said...
Mrs. Edwards was not asked about her comments about Hillary on the show. I guess the blogger is behind on the news and prefers to believe Ny Mag over Mrs. Edwards.

Perhaps the blogger should visit other sites and look at the footage on YT.
4/3/08, 1:55 PM  
Blogger Batocchio said...
Melina, you might also want to check out Elizabeth Edwards' recent questions to John McCain on his health care proposal. Damn, she is sharp. And notice, just as you're saying, we're getting gossipy BS from the MSM (apparently inaccurate, too) while Edwards goes to substance and the impact of policies on real people. What a shock that conservative policies yet again benefit rich and powerful individuals and corporations while screwing over average citizens.
4/3/08, 2:15 PM  
Blogger Bob said...
I don't think Edwards has now or has ever had much real power in Democratic party politics, & I also think he's pretty much a nonplayer in this campaign. Had he stayed in the race through a few more states, he might have a small block of delegates with some big influence. He made a mistake, & there's no taking it back. He's not on the good foot with Gore, either.
4/3/08, 2:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Hey thanks for the great blog, I love this stuff. I don’t usually read much into politics but with the election coming up (not to mention the dem primaries) and everyone going green these days I thought I would leave a comment.

I am trying to find more about the government and if they are going to ratify the Kyoto Protocol any time soon. Has anyone seen this pole on EarthLab.com http://www.earthlab.com/life.aspx ? It said 75% of people think the government should ratify the Kyoto Protocol on Earth Day (when I took it). I also saw something on Wikipedia but it wasn’t up to date. Any other thoughts on where the government is going with this?

I am looking for more info on what candidates’ opinions are and how are we are going to get closer to solutions. Drop a link if you see anything worth my time.
4/3/08, 6:53 PM  
Blogger Melina said...
hey Benny...idea consultant...fav song: over the rainbow...;-)Memories from Cats...
All I can say is that my point is that this is what we get. As anyone who reads my stuff regularly could tell you ,I can usually recite what was on MSNBC and pretty much everywhere else, but alas, I fell on the job when I saw Joe and just had to turn him off...or, as Jill would say "icepick, meet forehead." Believe me, I woulda watched if I had any idea that Elizabeth was gonna be on, and I supposed I mighta maybe woulda YTed the footage of the whole damned show if I had time...BUT, I did study and read the NY Mag article and the point of my piece was that the whole thing was blown up out of proportion and twisted into a story from nothing...you know about that right? Your little team there of idea merchants (a couple of whom I even know personally)must know about the spin...right?
Good to have you here...sorry to disappoint in my newswatchin'worthiness, but I didnt see it as the most important thing in the world ....What Joe asked or didnt ask actually was not something that I felt compelled to fact check.
What was your point anyway?

PS I love your profile...really, no shit!
4/3/08, 8:44 PM  
Blogger Melina said...
batty- I love Elizabeth Edwards...I still have my Elizabeth We Can lanyard from YK2 when we met with John in the breakout session. It was really a highpoint...and she would have been a fantastic first (or second) lady.
I'm sorta heartbroken about the whole thing....
4/3/08, 8:45 PM  
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