Thank God For John Edwards

I've been pimping John Edwards for months now. So when he got the nod for V.P. this morning, my politically-savvy buddy Matt Giraud (who really needs to start a blog of his own) naturally emailed me to see if the good news might conceivably get me to stop bitching for more than five consecutive seconds.

And the answer is, yes, I'm pretty stoked. I was online when the Kerry campaign emailed me with the news, making good on their promise to let the mailing list members be the first to know. I actually let out a whoop normally reserved for seeing the Lakers or Yankees lose a championship. Of course, now I have to give them the $100 I pledged if Kerry would NOT tap Gephardt.

Re-Elect President Dewey in 2004

It's worth it, and not just because I avoided having to ritually disembowel myself due to the selection of Gephardt. (Good thing I don't get my news from The New York Post, see photo.) The Kerry/Edwards duo maps nicely onto an narrative archetype of male partnership popularized by the Hollywood form known as the "buddy picture." One older guy, well-respected and solid (but a little too serious), who does everything by the book, and his younger, less experienced partner who makes up for his greenness with energy, fire, and enthusiasm. In the standard telling, the younger guy learns some of the older dog's tricks and comes to respect his toughness, while the older guy is revitalized and emboldened to give up some of his hidebound ways by the new partner. I think people will respond to this instinctively-- rightly or wrongly, we'll assume that Edwards will loosen Kerry up, and that the two will make a formidable team.

Plus, you know Dick Cheney is sweating nickels over the prospect of being cross-examined by Edwards. A debate isn't a trial, but I think Edwards will find a way to make it look like one. This is the first campaign in my memory where the sitting VP is a legitimate campaign issue-- voters on both sides of the aisle accept that Cheney is a major architect of policy. Taking him apart will be meaningful in a way that "You're no Jack Kennedy," brilliant as it was, was not.

So, in keeping with my pledge, and with the belief that having Edwards Day be a record fundraising milestone will strengthen the impression that Kerry has done something very shrewd, I am kicking down $100 to the Kerry campaign today. Care to join me? If I can do it as a pizza-boy...