Edwards on MTP

Tim Russert held John Edwards' feet to the fire on Meet the Press this weekend.

Edwards was challenged over his assertion on CNN in Feb 2002 that Iraq was "the most serious and imminent threat to our country." After a week of asserting that Iraq was a distraction, Edwards was left to return to the uncomfortable position of yeah, but we didn't want Bush to do it THAT way...

Russert also noted Edwards' promise during his presidential campaign to "vote for what's necessary to support the troops," and his vote against the $87b supplemental 3 weeks later. Edwards was ready for that, though, responding that Bush didn't have a plan, and that it included a no-bid contract for Halliburton which he did not support.

Together with his performance in the VP debate, I am questioning my earlier belief that he would have been a better candidate than Kerry. It's hard to say, though, what an Edwards candidacy would have looked like since Edwards is having to fit himself into Kerry's contorted positions.