Then there’s the taint of having been associated with the pathetic Kerry campaign, which adds yet more disquiet to the netroots’ assessment of Edwards.

Don’t get me wrong. I like the guy. He’s a nice guy. A sincere guy. A guy who really cares about America. He reminds me a lot of Jimmy Carter, another nice, sincere guy who really cares about America. And that’s the problem in a nutshell — Carter was not an effective President, and there’s this doubt that Edwards would be an effective President.

- Badtux the Politics Penguin

From where I stand Obama and Clinton look like bickering schoolchildren, and Edwards is smart enough to stand back from that, but not too far back to be forgotten. I call that a decent strategy for now.

That said, perhaps he could help boost the Democrats chances by giving powerful speeches now and rallying around the winner at the convention. Maybe he could be given a position in the Cabinet to help promote his ideas.

For still too many young people there is no sense of urgency as we slide down the gullet of fascism.

Now that I’ve said that, here’s my question: does he seem to be lacking a bit of his 2004 “fire in the belly” this time around? That has certainly been my impression, after having seen him in a 2004 rally, then again a few months ago (as well as in the AFL-CIO debate in Chicago).

Why can’t we have both?

Edwards cannot control what the consolidated media decides to present as news. They helped take us to war. Edwards cannot control what bloggers decide to write. However in 2006 the progressive bloggers were united in taking down the Republicans.

This year the progressive bloggers seem to be timid and not willing to promote who they think will be the best president. They seem to have bought the idea that Democrats in the primaries have to be nice to each other. So how do we differentiate? Is this the year that having a minority candidate is the most important issue? Or is this the time that we need a bold leader?

I don’t quite understand your post. You seem to be blaming Edwards for the fact that the media has chosen our front runners, and most people do not access information to determine otherwise. If you like Edwards he needs the same passionate support that he is demonstrating. At the very least his ideas need support. Edwards is passionate about making this country work for the majority of Americans. He cannot win when the progressive bloggers also sit on the sidelines and do not write why they think he is the right person for these times. Of course if you don’t believe that, then it could be that you need to support one of the others.

It’s also important to remember that national polls don’t really mean much — Iowa flips the game around like nobody’s business. And in the polls with tight likely caucusgoer screens, Edwards is still leading there.

Taylor Marsh posted an interesting study in which Obama and Hillary get the most press, with Edwards a distant third. I did a quick scan on my own last night to see if it held water. It does, and the majority of the PR Edwards gets is negative, as Media Matters can prove. Why? Edwards is taking on the establishment as whole and believes there needs to be real reform, but most of all, other media outlets, Olbermann withstanding from MSNBC, won’t admit that Fox News is not a legitimate news organization. Edwards said no to them this year, and it has rackled all of the media, not just Fox.