The only reason Edwards is not breaking the top three on most political talk shows or opinion forums is that the major media is ignoring him. Pure and simple. Jeff Greenfield and Margaret Carlson both dismiss him as "too young" without saying much else. These people are so out of touch with real voters, 66% of whom can not still name a single candidate, it would be funny if it was not so frustrating to Edwards supporters like myself. If you're going to watch him and listen to him, then dismiss him, fine. But dismissing him as "too young" or "nothing grabs my attention" when he is fifty just like Tony Blair, and also a great thinker and speaker is outrageous! How shallow and jaded can they get? Washington insiders are not at an advantage in a general election. Bush would beat Lieberman or Gephardt in a landslide. It wouldn't even be close!
Click here for a detailed analysis of the Edwards campaign from NH public TVs Outlook program, which predicts that Edwards is well positioned to spring to the front of the pack this fall. If you underestimate Edwards now for purely superficial reasons, six months from now you'll be wondering why you did.
Kerry, Edwards, Dean, and Graham are the only ones who can get swing voter support, and Edwards and Graham are the only ones who can beat Bush. I think Edwards has Clinton's charisma, Gore's tenacity, and Carter's moral fortitude, so I give him the edge over Graham, although Graham does have experience and personality on his side.
I keep coming back to this ranking of the top Democrats' prospects:
1-Edwards
2-Graham
3-Dean
4-Kerry
5-Gephardt
6-Lieberman
The pundits may all be caught up in the self-sufficient details of day-to-day campaign minutia, but voters sure are not. Most can't name a single candidate!