John Edwards Hardball Recap By: Mark W Adams

(Via One America Committee Blog:.)

Hardball recap:

Last night, the Senator and Mrs. Edwards appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews. The show was filmed at UNC-Chapel Hill as a part of the Hardball College Tour.

Click here to see video of the appearance.

Click here to read an article about the event from the Raleigh News & Observer.

We've got a discussion thread about the appearance going here on the blog; so far over 100 comments! Check it out and join the discussion!

Continue reading to see an excerpt from the press article.

from the Raleigh News & Observer

Edwards said it was unacceptable for President Bush to delay making any changes in U.S. policy in Iraq until January.

"I think the war is a mess," Edwards said. "The Iraq study group makes that clear. ... There is a desperate need for a change in policy. It is amazing to me and totally unacceptable that the president of the United States, after having led us there and created this mess, along with the help of others, is not taking responsibility to change course."

Edwards said that the United States should have known better than to become involved in Iraq, referring to a centuries-old tribal war.

"The idea that we can fix this with military intervention is absolute nonsense," Edwards said. "The only solution is a political solution."

Edwards said he would withdraw 40,000 to 50,000 service members immediately, while shifting more responsibility to Iraqi authorities.

I'm well aware of Hillary's chest -- er ... war chest, as well as the Obamanon enrapturing blogtopia and the MSM. But Democrats, if you want to win in '08, and have a POTUS who isn't going to sell out to big business, big donors or the war-mongers ... who will even the playing field between the haves and have-nots ... who is correct on all the issues, then and now ... who doesn't piss half the country off just by the mention of her/his name ... who can be competitive in the southern States -- you ought to start being serious about who should be our candidate instead of playing parlor games and engaging in wishful thinking.

We are indeed blessed by a very deep bench of presidential possibilities on the left side of the aisle, but why ask for trouble.

The forces that will arise against Hillary will be legion,

Kerry and the Big Dog, Gore, are hardly men who can unite the party let alone the nation,

Vilsack will be forgotten after an increasingly irrelevant Iowa caucus fades into memory,

Kucinich, much like Brownback on the right, is useful only to mark the far edge of the choices,

Bill Richardson and Wesley Clark don't seem like they're serious about running this time around, but they could change everything for me if they do,

Biden? Bayh? They may be serious, but no one's going to take them seriously,

and then there's Obama, who star is just as likely to burn out as it is to increase it's blaze.

Barack is a dream candidate, but I fear it is just a dream. This nation's disgusting prejudicial attitudes are enough of a hurdle for any candidate to overcome, be they hispanic, like Bill Richardson (another outstanding possibility), female, non-protestant, let alone black. Add that to the attitude that got Shrub elected by a constituency who will not support anyone appearing more intelligent, more worldly, more articulate and better looking than you, and working to get Obama elected becomes a Herculean effort.

Maybe I'm taking the path of least resistance supporting a candidate who simply has lower negatives instead of higher positives than the rest of the field, but more than anything, I want to win. It might not matter this early whatsoever, but Bush is already the lamest of lame ducks, and I believe long term strategy trumps fickle popularity, and serious candidates who do not pander to the mythical center, who stake out positions based on principle and thoughtful analysis rather than focus groups opinions are out best hope for a prosperous future.

Only three people fit that bill in my opinion, Bill Richardson, Wesley Clark and of course, at the top of that list, is John Edwards.