“Edwards is someone who never stops thinking about strategy — and he has a remarkable ability to step out of the moment and analyze the state of play with a clear eye. That tells me he is thinking about what happens after South Carolina. If he concludes he cannot be the nominee, what will he conclude about the role he wants to play — if any — to influence the eventual outcome?” For all the political coverage of Senators Obama and Clinton here as everywhere, the WP’s Dan Balz reminds us, there’s still one, even election-deciding wild card that’s being mostly overlooked: John Edwards. “In a largely two-person race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, it’s clear where Edwards’s sentiments lie. If he can’t be the nominee, he strongly prefers Obama to Clinton.” I believe that too, and on its face one would think a lot of Edwards voters would be more sympathetic to Obama as well. But that might very well be mistaken: Some analyses of the New Hampshire vote have Edwards’ attrition in support, particularly among women, putting Clinton over the top there. It’s not a given by any means that Edwards voters would next vote Obama.
At any rate, I agree with Balz that Edwards will see how he does in South Carolina, virtually his home state (next to NC, where he’s now polling third), before making any decisions. And regardless, whatever Edwards may decide, I’m not going to begrudge him his staying in the race for as long as he wants, even if he stays until the convention and even if he costs Obama in the end. He’s a good candidate with a stirring populist message, he has stayed above the board in his campaign strategy, and, in any case, nobody should tell him he needs to get out of the race if he doesn’t so desire. His votes and his supporters are his own.