I’m gonna evoke the whole “changing the tone” thing one more time — there are so many examples of how the Bush administration has changed it for the worse. But their nasty, mean, obnoxious, libelous and just generally bile-filled evisceration of John Edwards within moments of his pick for the Kerry ticket is just inexcusable. The Bush attack machine has already made this the most negative campaign ever. And it’s going to get much worse.
A few choice comments from E. J. Dionne today:
When you hear Republicans disparage Sen. John Edwards’s lack of experience, remember the words of Sen. Orrin Hatch, spoken to George W. Bush at a debate on Dec. 6, 1999.
“You’ve been a great governor,” Hatch declared of his rival for the Republican presidential nomination. “My only problem with you, governor, is that you’ve only had four and going into your fifth year of governorship. . . . Frankly, I really believe that you need more experience before you become president of the United States. That’s why I’m thinking of you as a vice presidential candidate.”
… The key to Edwards’s twin appeal — to upscale voters and to those trying to climb the ladder or helping their kids do it — was explained many years ago by the great American sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset. Lipset argued that the two core American values were “equality” and “achievement.” Americans want a level playing field and don’t like people who put on airs. But they also admire strivers. Edwards can give his “two Americas” and “dad in the mill” speech as someone who used the education system to rise up and get rich. That’s the American story.
Ah, but he got rich as one of those “trial lawyers,” Republicans were quick to say. This fight over trial lawyers will be one of the campaign’s great sideshows. The Republicans failed with the anti-lawyer gambit against Edwards when he was first elected to the Senate in 1998. Here’s a bet that when trial lawyers are paired up against corporations that abuse their power, Edwards’s profession will have a fighting chance.
Republicans grumbled that Edwards was Kerry’s “second choice” after Republican John McCain. Can’t blame the GOP for trying. But it’s hard to think voters will hold it against Kerry that he tried to reach out to Republicans during a period of rancid partisanship.
Oh, yes, and one more point on that experience thing: “When it comes time to make the decision to send our young men and women into harm’s way, that decision should be made by a leader who knows that such decisions have profound consequences. There comes a time when our nation’s leader can no longer rely on briefing books and talking points.” That was McCain in 1999. He was talking about the man who became our current president. You wonder which side will be most eager to cite that quotation.
