So it’s official: John Kerry has picked John Edwards as his running mate. I’m not as heartened by this as either the Kerry supporters or the Bush supporters are for that matter. Kerry became his party’s candidate because Democratic primary voters calculated he was the most electable candidate—not because of any great affection for the man, his character, or the policies that he supports. And now John Kerry has apparently calculated that John Edwards is the candidate that brings the most needed oomph to his candidacy.
Can you calculate your way to the Presidency? Bill Clinton would suggest that you can. He certainly didn’t have much in the way of credentials when he ran in 1992. But he did have charm. John Kerry doesn’t even have that. I guess I’m naive.
Why can’t the Democratic Party vote its heart? Or is the heart of the Democratic Party the search for power for its own sake? I hope not.
Well, this promises to be simultaneously the most boring and the most bitter campaign of my memory.
