Edwards Jumps The Shark

Captain's Quarters: Edwards Jumps The Shark

"Former Sen. John Edwards on Friday fired the latest round in his ongoing
verbal feud with Ann Coulter, calling her a 'she-devil' at a public event before
quickly adding that he shouldn't engage in name-calling. Edwards, D-N.C., was
railing against the right-wing media -- including Fox News and Rush Limbaugh --
when he reminded a crowd in Burlington, Iowa, that his wife stood up to Coulter
in a public spat earlier this summer. 'We know these people. We know their game
plan. They're going to attack us personally,' Edwards said. 'They attacked
Elizabeth personally, because she stood up to that she-devil Ann Coulter. … I
should not have name-called. But the truth is -- forget the names -- people like
Ann Coulter, they engage in hateful language.'"

I think this is a losing strategy for Edwards, for a number of reasons. The first one to come to mind is that he has everything to lose, and Ann Coulter and Fox News have everything to gain. How many people who are going to be listening to an Edwards speech are going to stop watching Fox just because he said so. Most of them probably don't watch it anyways - otherwise they wouldn't buy the attack. The same thing with Ann Coulter, how many people in his audience purchase her books or go to events where she is a paid speaker - my guess is none. He is preaching to the choir. However, his attacks give both Ann Coulter and fox News reason to cheer. Ann courts a clearly conservative audience, and when someone liberal like Edwards is attacking her, it becomes a selling point for herself and her ideas. Fox News can bring out the same game, what is he afraid of, why is he attacking us, is it because he is afriad of the truth?

Further it does nothing to tell America how he is different from his other democratic candidates. IT does not promote his ideas, and explain the kind of leader he is going to be. Unless the kind of leader he is going to be is one that attacks those who disagree with him. I think Edwards needs to stick to that issues, he has a solid base to work from when talking about poverty - focus on that. Fox News and Ann Coulter have and will be engaged in their own politics of attack. Ignore them, it will make them look silly, like they are talking to themselves.