Pearce: Edwards needs to keep swimming
Over at Talking About Politics, Gary Pearce says John Edwards should avoid panic and keep swimming:
An experienced ocean-swimmer knows what to do in a riptide. Don't panic, and don't fight it. Swim parallel to the shore until you're out of trouble. Then get back to dry land.That's what Hillary Clinton and John Edwards should do now. They're caught in a Barack Obama tide. There's no fighting it. But there is a way to survive it.
Clinton is drowning because she's thrashing. Lashing out at Obama. Choking up.
Edwards seems to get it. Maybe because he has a vacation home on the coast. After thrashing himself for a couple of days, he attacked Clinton, not Obama - and got back to his message.
I'm all for having a campaign rather than a coronation, but Obama's poll numbers look strong in both Nevada and SC. One wonders where Edwards (or Clinton) could make a stand. It seems to me Super Tuesday is a tough place to hold back the tide.
Maybe the most pressing question tonight will be how well does Edwards have to do (a solid #2, a respectable #3) not to unhinge his campaign completely?
