People, people.
I gotta tell you, the Edwards vs. Obama snipe-o-rama is really getting me down, because I have long had a fantasy that needs fulfillment, and if we can't come together on this I just don't see how it's going to happen.
Here's my fantasy:
Edwards/Obama '08
Edwards/Obama '12
Obama/Wasserman-Schulz '16 (or pick your talented young Dem of choice)
Obama/whoever '20
That's right folks. Both of the party's charismatic great young hopes, tied together in a dream unity scenario that will lead to 16 straight years of post-supply-side Democratic dominance, hallelujah and amen!
Why do I put Edwards first, and Obama second, the Obama supporters may cry? Well, it's not anything dorky like "it's his turn". Edwards does have a little more experience with national campaigning and I think he might be able to keep the thing on the rails in '08 a little better than Obama, but even that is a fairly minor consideration.
No, I have a grand master plan that has to do with what "brand" each candidate is selling. Edwards is the Southern-flavored candidate with a very strong progressive streak, sounding the tones of populism and strong contrast with the current administration. I think the country needs that strong contrast right now, a sharp swing of the pendulum away from the politics of trickle-down and tax cuts and the endless grinding War on Terrah. Edwards will turn us inward to look at what Americans need in the world, and lay the groundwork for a new, progressive society, much like FDR did in the '30s, when America had to turn away from the world stage for a bit and help its own people.
Obama is the urban black candidate, the true first black president, sounding the tones of unity and bipartisanship. I think once the tough, practical challenges of getting the economy and the health care system yanked out of YOYOism are met, Obama can meet the even tougher challenges of soothing our national spirit, and take us out into the world again with a new face.
But I do not think our spirits should be soothed and bipartisan harmony reached for before we roll up our sleeves and take some of our own back. The swing of the pendulum has to come before the gradual settling into harmony.
So settle down, y'all, is what I'm saying. Dare to dream with me that we can take full advantage of the charms, strengths, and relative youth of these two awesome presidential candidates, and that we can all be brothers and sisters under the sun of a post-peak-oil golden age.