Edwards scolded Hillary and Obama for arguing over meeting with foreign leaders, as if to say, "I am the great uniter; Barack is just a pretender." Edwards said, "If you're looking for what's wrong in Washington, why the system is broken (this is a) perfect example. "We've had two good people who spent their time attacking each other, instead of attacking the problems that this country has faced."
Edwards' statement says much more about Edwards than it does Clinton or Obama. In the first place, I'm tired of people like Edwards, who don't seem that enamored with our system of government or the free market economy that accompanies it, calling our system broken.
Nothing could better demonstrate the healthy state of our political system than rival candidates debating each other on substantive issues. The system was never designed to eliminate conflict, as evidenced by the Framers' intentionally dividing governmental power between federal and state governments and placing federal power in three competing branches.
Is John Edwards suggesting that the issue of whether to negotiate unconditionally with thug dictators is less important than superficial harmony among presidential candidates? Is it more important for the candidates to pretend to agree on everything than to air their differences about things that truly matter?
It's doubtful that Edwards believes that, but if he does, he's even less qualified for president than I thought. Edwards just wants to be part of the story and is using this bogus call to harmony as a cynical ploy to make himself look superior, conciliatory and above the fray. Interestingly, in the very process of holding himself out as Mahatma Ghandi, Edwards was sniping at the other two candidates. Just amazing.
Perhaps Edwards could share with the class how he would reconcile the two quite contradictory positions of Clinton and Obama on the foreign leader issue or whether he thinks it would just be better not to discuss it, lest we create an appearance of disharmony.
Better yet, perhaps all three, together or separately, harmoniously or acrimoniously, could tell us what might happen if we follow their more or less unified and harmonious recommendation that we withdraw our forces precipitously from Iraq. Is that an important enough issue to discuss? Please raise your hand, John.