John Edwards Seeks Role as Rebel Outsider

MSNBC/Newsweek has a story on John Edward's attempts to recast himself as a rebel outsider fighting for the poor.

"Thirty-seven million of our people, worried about feeding and clothing their children," he said to his audience. "Aren't we better than that?" It's not the stuff of great sound bites, but it's part of Edwards's new political plan: a presidential campaign with fighting poverty as a central plank. It's a risky strategy in today's Democratic Party—Edwards may be the most viable national candidate since Bobby Kennedy to tie his destiny to a fight for the destitute. "Yeah, I heard all that stuff: 'Who cares?' or 'It's a dead end'," Edwards tells NEWSWEEK. "Well, it's what I want to do."

But can Edwards really change his image? Can he shake off the Republican charges of being anti-business and still run a campaign to fight poverty? Will anyone take him seriously?

Edwards is counting on the fact that Americans have very short attention spans and that no one ever remembers the bench warmer on a losing team.

But is this really a new Edwards? Can a politician change his stripes in just under two years? Or is this just a ploy to set himself apart from Kerry and Clinton, two of the biggest names who will seek the Democratic nomination.

I'm skeptical at best. I never saw Edwards as a viable candidate.


Technorati Tags: John Edwards, Presidential race, Democrats, Poverty, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Newsweek