Gossip | John Edwards Tried to Secure the VP Position

Lets make a deal...

A few days ago, we found out that the leaker behind the Edwards $400 haircut came from the Obama camp. David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, has written his version of a tell-all book describing the 2008 election and the campaign trail. Personally, I don't think I would read the book but some interesting tid-bits have come out.

Additional information about Edwards has once again been exposed by Plouffe. Why do I think that Edwards is not a big fan of Plouffe right now!
According to Plouffe, former Presidential nominee John Edwards, made an attempt to cut a hush-hush sneaky deal with both his opponents. Edwards tried to offer his endorsement (as he was coming out of the race) in exchange for the Vice Presidential spot on the ticket. The book proclaims that the Edwards campaign presented their offer right before the South Carolina primary. In other words, his support was for sale as he would have gladly marched behind either Hillary or Barack, so long as they had given him the number 2 spot on the ticket. It goes on to say that Obama chose not to take any deals and received Edwards’ support anyway.

“This was the pitch: ‘Listen. It's clear unless the race is shaken up, Hillary is going to win. You guys might not even win South Carolina. What would shake the race up is John ending his campaign, but not simply to endorse another candidate. All things being equal, John prefers Barack. They should announce they are joining forces and will run as a ticket. Edwards can vouch for Obama with blue-collar and Southern whites and is running on a change message.’”

Plouffes account of his conversation with Obama regarding the Edwards offer;

"Obama's answer was quick and firm: he would cut no deals."

Maybe I'm just suspicious but I wonder if their rejection of the offer had anything to do with Rielle? This whole discussion took place around the same time the rumors’ were coming out about Edwards having a mistress which was subsequently followed by the National Enquirer story exposing Edwards. As terrible as this may sound, it’s not uncommon for candidates or other people involved in certain political or policy matters to come to an agreement by negotiation. Not hard to imagine. The part of it the bothers me the most is the fact that above all, he knew that he would not be a good candidate for the position and yet, did that stop him from seeking the VP slot? As a matter of fact, with his name on any ballot, there was a possibility that it could be damaging to his running mate and the Democratic Party at large. Whether or not certain staff members knew of his affair with Rielle Hunter, he certainly did and at no time did his moral compass send off a little alert to advise him from running on any ballots. On top of that, there has been numerous stories covering the Edwards affair which revealed that certain staff members were aware of this affair and still went along with the campaign. As someone who has been involved in campaigns, I can’t imagine remaining with a candidate whom I did not believe in or someone who I didn’t find acceptable to fill that position for whatever reason but above all if he turned out to be a complete FRAUD! The people who are voting for him have a right to know what they are getting with this man. I worked on a campaign where the candidate, in my estimation, was not doing certain things that are expected of all candidates in the beginning. I told him straight up that I was not comfortable trying to round up volunteers or contributors to donate time and money until he did what he needed to do. I felt as if I was deceiving them or not being completely forthright. Because of these reasons and a few others, I eventually resigned from my position on that campaign as I found myself questioning his ability. I couldn’t with a good conscience get his man elected if I, myself, wasn’t completely convinced in his candidacy.
This is why I also take issue with his staff as they displayed a severe lack in judgment. (I often have to remind myself that we are not all alike and just because I may not crave power and control; there are many others who do and work continuously towards this goal)

Could Edwards ever get elected again? I hope not!