What if John Edwards had been the nominee in 2008?

[democrattotheend]

If you recall, his scandal blew up and he eventually admitted to it in June 2008, not long after Obama clinched the nomination. What if Edwards had been the one who had just clinched the nomination? Would we have had to go ahead with nominating him because it would be "undemocratic" to do otherwise?

I am not saying it has gotten to that point with Hillary at this time, but if she is indicted or more damning information is released that would seriously compromise her chances of getting elected, then that is when I think it's legit for the superdelegates to nominate Bernie even if Hillary has more votes. In my opinion, the superdelegates should only give the nomination to someone who did not win the highest number of pledged delegates if there is a scandal that is so big that it's reasonable to say the majority of primary voters would have voted differently had they known.

I am not hoping that happens, but I think the stuff that has come out recently is enough that I am glad Bernie is still in the race and fighting for every delegate in case we need a backup candidate, because it would be a lot more undemocratic to nominate someone who never even ran in the primaries, like in 1968.

[XemaSab]

1. You ever read "Game Change?"

People on his staff were worried that he would clinch the nomination and there was discussion in their ranks about potentially pulling the plug on him if it looked like it might happen.

[democrattotheend]

2. I did, but I don't remember that part

But that is comforting. Hopefully Hillary's people would do the same if they really thought the scandal would blow up that much, but I am not 100% confident of that. I have a friend who worked as field staff for Edwards in 2008 and I know he felt really betrayed when the affair broke. That kind of work involves working a ton of hours for very low pay, and you have to really believe in the candidate to be willing to do it. It was crappy of Edwards to mislead the people who worked so hard for him.

[reddread]

6. I remember his campaign manager claiming paternity

so many loathsome aspects to that, but let us assume it IS a given they both know the truth, and the
truth will certainly unravel any genuine hopes or plans to win. But they carried on.
Not only that, but in the pursuit of this fallacy, this doomed prospect, the scumbag denied his own child.
this is monstrous.

he was not running for president.
he was running for something else.
for someone else.
and they needed to continue.

[NWCorona]

3. I haven't but it sounds like a good read.

My partner really liked him but she always said he seemed too much like a car salesman. She was right! He's the ultimate douche and If he would do that to his wife then he definitely wouldn't give two shits about us.

[democrattotheend]

4. I liked his message in 2008

I was torn between him and Obama at first because I thought he was raising some important issues. While I in no way defend either what he did to his wife or the fact that he was arrogant enough to run for president and jeopardize the election, I don't think it's necessarily fair to say that having an affair proves he didn't really care about poverty or the other issues he talked about.

[NWCorona]

5. It's not the affair but how he treated her.

[unc70]

7. Many claims against Edwards disproved in court

I think the comparison with Edwards in 2008 is fair and appropriate.

A gentle reminder regarding Edwards. Many of the most outrageous aspects of the case were based on the evidence and testimony of one couple and was disproved in Federal court. Yes, Edwards had the affair and fathered the child. But all the tales of skimming campaign funds, the Bunny money, etc. -- all the rest were lies by the chief witness to cover up his own theft of the money.

Most people forget Edwards was found not guilty.

[democrattotheend]

8. But would you have wanted Edwards as our nominee with all that baggage?

The standard for finding someone guilty of a crime is beyond all reasonable doubt. The standard for convincing someone not to vote for someone for president is a lot lower than that for most voters.

[unc70]

11. Baggage is too much

The Edwards baggage would probably have been way too much in 2008, particularly with the child involved. (Otherwise, it would have been a bad replay of 1992.) John was totally stupid and reckless to try to get by with that behavior.

What HRC has done is a lot worse in many ways than what either WJC in 1992 or JE in 2008. It is not just about ruining ones personal life and marriage, but about betraying her professional obligations at the highest levels of government.

[SheenaR]

9. I can provide some unique perspective

As I was very much involved with the campaign. I traveled with the Senator to events and in a pinch even drove him to one. I spent most of my time in the Northeast.

I bought his schtick hook, line and sinker. The man radiated charisma.

And Elizabeth Edwards was an absolute saintly woman.

But if we had gotten past the convention with all of this looming, it would most certainly have been defeat. Not even close. He would barely have had a staff, nevermind voters.

Situations are slightly different, but to me the FBI investigation is a huge red flag. We are proceeding at our own risk, but nobody seems to care.

[democrattotheend]

10. I'm sorry you went through that

I had a friend who worked on his campaign as a field staffer, putting in countless hours for very low pay (as is the case on most campaigns), only to find out the man he had worked so hard for wasn't who everyone thought he was. I know I would have been heartbroken if stuff like that came out about Obama after all the work I put into his campaign and how much I believed in him.

I don't think Hillary did anything that is going to land her in jail, but I am afraid it could blow up and put Trump in the White House.

The one thing I do find comforting is that the State Department is now run by John Kerry, who has every reason not to want Hillary to be nominated but no reason to want Trump in the White House. So if there were anything more damning than this report, hopefully it would have come out by now unless she did it in such a way that Kerry wouldn't even know. To be clear - I am not accusing Kerry of playing politics with the report. I am just saying that he is the last Democrat I would expect to be concealing anything to protect her, given the way some Clintonistas hung him out to dry in 2004.

[SheenaR]

12. It changed the course of my career

I got out of politics after that race and into a completely different field. It was definitely rough.

I appreciate the sentiments. It was only 2016 and Bernie that brought me out of the shadows