Waco congressman Chet Edwards has an influential supporter in the Democratic vice presidential derby. Liberal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems to be single-handedly keeping the centrist Texan in the rumor mill as a possible running mate for Barack Obama. This morning, on ABC's This Week political talk show, Pelosi called Edwards, who represents George W. Bush's Crawford ranch in the House of Representatives, "an extraordinarily talented person." The San Francisco Democrat described Edwards as "the champion of veterans in Congress.".... Pelosi said that colleagues have thought for years that Edwards was presidential material. This year, as a long list of senators is being discussed as possible Obama running mates, House Democratic leaders think that one of their own should be in the mix, she said.
Well, I suppose you should know that your star is on the ascent when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is throwing her weight behind you...and Texas Rep. Chet Edwards has got to be feeling pretty good about things right about now. Edwards, though not a name on the short lists of most of the national media, does have some advantages to offer. First, there's the delicious irony that Edwards district includes Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader's © Crawford ranch. That thought alone should put a smile on the face of any Democrat...and yes, kids, there ARE Democrats in Texas outside of Austin.
Second, while the odds that Barack Obama will carry Texas are long at best, having Edwards on the ticket certainly couldn't hurt in that respect. If nothing else, Edwards' presence would likely force McCain's Brownshirts to devote resources to Texas that they'd rather employ employ in battleground states.
Third, he's not Hillary Clinton. This isn't exactly high praise, but after Clinton's sorry, self-absorbed, LOOKITME!! excuse for a campaign, I'm hardly of a mind to see her perfidy and selfishness rewarded with a spot on the Democratic ticket. Yes, I would certainly vote for an Obama-Clinton ticket, but it wouldn't be because of Clinton.
The more I think about it, the more Chet Edwards makes sense. He's a centrist, which a Democrat really has to be in order to survive in Texas (unless he or she happens to hail from Austin and even then....). Edwards knows how to fight and win races in Republican territory. Texas is by definition "behind enemy lines" for Democrats, so the success Edwards has had over the years bodes well for his ability to appeal to those who think that Democrats are just this side of the Dark Prince His Own Self.
And wouldn't it be delicious to even be able to entertain the possibility that Texas might fall into the Democratic column in November?
