Rep. Chet Edwards? Who’s He?
By SusanUnPC on August 22, 2008 at 8:30 PM in Current Affairs
If it is true — and, after all, it is just one news report carrying the story, as LisaB’s news round-up indicates — that Hillary Clinton was never vetted for the vice presidential slot, I am sorely disappointed that no one in Barack Obama’s campaign understood the necessity of bestowing upon her the simple courtesy of considering her for the position.
If I were he, knowing that 18,000,000 Americans cast their votes for her in the primaries, I would have gone out of my way to make her feel an important part of the veepstake process. Even if I had no intention of selecting her, I would do it as a simple courtesy and a heartfelt acknowledgement of her stature in the party and all of those who voted for her. (Let’s hope that the Politico source was wrong.)
Chet Edwards is the latest name being added to the buzz about possible V.P. picks for Barack Obama.
Chet. Now there’s a manly name. For those of us old enough to remember, his name evokes the legendary newsman Chet Huntley. But, frankly, most of us have never heard of Chet Edwards before, along with 90% of all Americans. Lest anyone get too excited, here’s what the Campaign Spot blog at the National Review has to say about him:
There's praise for Edwards in the Corner, but from a straight-up political view, I think Obama picking Chet Edwards would be disastrous. A nine-term House vet on the Appropriations Committee doesn't scream hope and change. He voted for the Iraq War — which Obama touted as the most important decision since the end of the Cold War — and disagrees with Obama on ANWR, offshore drilling, amnesty for illegal immigrants, CAFE standards, staunchly opposes gay marriage, … There's balance on the ticket, and then there's a successor a heartbeat away who would reverse all of your policy initiatives.
Sure, he's very pro-choice, rated F by the NRA, and manages to hang on to a central Texas House district. And Pelosi recommended him. But the debate would consist almost entirely of the GOP vice-presidential candidate saying, "I agree with Chet's old position, the one he had before he put his manhood in a blind trust and flip-flopped to agree with Obama's liberal position." Edwards would constantly be in the awkward position of defending positions he doesn't agree with.
I suspect his name popped up today just to give the starving journalists something to chew on for another day.
Besides, how would he really help Obama? It’s not as if Obama has a prayer of carrying the state of Texas.
Well, at least Chet Edwards is getting his 15 minutes of fame. Fox News has announced that reporter have his home in Texas staked out now. He’d might as well enjoy the attention while it lasts!
by Ronald Scott
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