So John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani are now officially out of the race. Let’s see what the United States has lost.
There was really very little that separated the three major Democratic candidates when it came to the issues themselves. They all hate the Iraq War, the only questions are who hates it the most and when did they start hating. They all favor universal healthcare, but they debate each other’s definition of “universal.” Thus, losing Edwards will not affect what voters will see when (if) the next Deomcratic President is setting his/her agenda in January 2009. The Edwards camp groused over the way the media gave extra attention to Clinton and Obama. Edwards’ competitors were “the woman candidate” and “the black candidate,” and Edwards could not compete with the buzz that accompanied them. But he had other problems. The reality is that Edwards has neither the work experience of Clinton, nor the positivist message of Obama. Another difficulty for Edwards was that he was trying to convince America that he, a millionaire enjoying the finer things (which apparently included $400 haircuts), really had a special burden for America’s poor. If you set aside the fact that one could get a much cheaper haircut and give the rest of the money to a charity for the needy, Edwards still had one last problem. If you make the poor your primary constituency, is it really a surprise when you don’t raise as much money as your competition? Edwards actually had a chance—maybe the voters would have thought he was the most electable. But they did not reach that conclusion soon enough, so he dropped out.
Rudy Giuliani needed a miracle to win the Republican nomination, and given his poor relationship with the Catholic Church, and his poor relationship with his marital vows, that miracle never seemed like a safe bet. Even when Giuliani was leading in the early polls with about 30% of the vote, it always struck me that what it really meant was that 70% of the Republicans were against him. His pro choice, pro gay marriage sensibilities might be a credit to his steadfastness, but they also totally alienated a huge chunk of the Republican base. And when it came out that Giuliani was caught cheating on his second wife, it raised legitimate questions about his basic character and trustworthiness. Without the morality card to play, Giuliani based his campaign on being a tough leader, but he couldn’t out-tough McCain, the former POW. Giuliani was left with nowhere to go, so he went to Florida, and when that didn’t work out, he quit.
Dropping out was a gift from Edwards and Giuliani to America, so, um, thank you, gentlemen. Now their supporters can turn their attention to the leftovers, and we can figure out who the next President is going to be.