And so it Begins: The 2008 Presidential Election

John Edwards entered the 2008 Presidential Race Thursday. One could say that Edwards kicked off the race yesterday. He is the first viable candidate to announce and his plan to dominate the election news cycle seems to be working well. A quick search of Yahoo! News complete coverage section of Presidential Politics shows nothing but Edwards stories. The coverage seems generally positive as well, reflecting on Edwards themes of community service and combating poverty. All in all a good start for a candidate who many have picked (yours truly included) to be the only viable anti-Hillary the Democrats have at this stage.

Barack Obama may draw the crowds, but he is young, he is inexperienced and in a country that still has some major racial issues, he is mixed race. No one wants to say it, but that factor makes him as polarizing a figure as Hillary Clinton. It is sad, but at this stage of American political life it is true. Now as a Vice Presidential candidate he would be a godsend. Attractive, articulate and loaded with charisma, he solidify the base for any Democratic Presidential candidate, all the while gaining stature for himself.

An Edwards/Obama ticket would be tough to beat, easily locking up the Democratic base with little effort. As for moderates, Edwards has shown the ability to run a positive campaign based on hopeful themes. He has demonstrated a willingness to talk about what America can do to fix its problems, rather than what his opponent can't or won't do. Moderates like that sort of campaign.